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SPECIAL SECTIONS 
START PAGE 54 FOR 


Amiga 
BBC 
C64 


Spectrum 
ST 





SOFTWARE == 


AMSTRAD 
BEATER? 


First hands- on test of 
he £600 





ETTE AU Schneider 
PC - page 15 





ba ap 
US Gold's Thunderblade takes on 17 other contenders - page 46 














* E n 
© The heads of Atari and Commodore 
ponder the future 














Atari is about to unleash a major 
assault on the software market 
with games and business programs 
due for all leading machines - 
including arch-rival Commodore's 
Amiga. 

Four separate labels are to be 
unveiled, covering specific software 
areas. Atari is currently despatching 
games scenarios and the like to 
numerous software developers. Pro 
grams are also being imported from 
Europe and North America 

Over the next year 24 titles will 
appear on the ST, nine on the PC and 
another nine on the Amiga. The 
games will also be licensed out to 
interested parties for release on the 
Spectrum and C64 

Atari is hoping that its name and 
financial clout can propel it into the 
software superleague of the likes of 
US Gold and Ocean 

The firm also argues that its hard 
ware push up market will provide a 
platform for PC software sales 
The four labels consist of Atari 
Frames (arcade games), Atari 
Mindgames (intellectual games and 
puzzles) Atari Вашеѕсареѕ 
(wargames) and Atari Hyper Series 

















(business and graphics pack 
ages) 
Atari Frames will kick off 


with some 16-bit conversions of 
old Atarisoft 8-bit games such as 


Star Raiders. New games are 
being developed by Liverpool 
based programming house 






mes (hence the name) 
rames' past experience includes 
work for the Imagine label. 

Mindgames first offerings include 
Japanese board game Go-Moku as 
well as Backgammon. Battlescapes 
it is claimed by Atari, will cover 
wars from Trafalgar to the future 

On the business front Atari has 
immediate plans for graphics pro 
grams, as well as Calamus DTP from 
Germany, a database from Canada 








€ PC Ill: Back to the past 





ASSAULT 


"| expect us to be 


likes of US Gold" 
= senior Atari figure 


and another package from Poland 
First up though will be an ST paint 
program. 
One senior Atari figure told 
press: "An awful lot of develop: 
ment money has gone into this and I 
expect us to be competing with the 
likes of US Gold. As a hardware 
manufacturer weve come to accept 
that we also be a software 
house 

On the droll notion of producing 
software for the Amiga from arch 
rival Commodore, he said: "Its 
always nice to be able to make 
money out of them 

He added: "By next Christmas. 
people will look at us as a powerful 
software publisher. We want to be 
as independent as possible." To that 
end Atari is planning to move its 
software development side com 
pletely away from its UK HQ in 
Slough 

A few years back, software acti 
ty was commonplace from hardware 
manufacturers. Sinclair, Commodore, 
Acorn and Amstrad all dabbled with 
games and business packages at 
some stage. Each cut back, variously 
citing a desire to concentrate on 





can 











6 ST: 24 new packages from Atari over the next year 


hardware, 
problems in attempting to compete 
with software specialists. 

Only Amstrad is currently still 
active in software, though on a much 
more modest scale than before. For 
Atari, the move represents a return 
to the days of Atarisoft – though that 
name won't be used this time round. 


financial difficulties ог 





Just the merest glimmer of hope on the chip 
front has been signalled by PC clone manu 
facturer Opus 

Abiding D-Ram chip problems have var- 
iously made chips scarce, expensive, or 
both for micro firms this year. But now Opus 
has detected a lull, and has lopped £100 off 
some of its machines 
£995 and the PC V is back down to £1,295 

Prices were originally increased by the 
firm in the spring, 
and Atari hikes. 


The PC Ill reverts to 


in line with the Amstrad 


competing with the 








ATARI PREPARES SOFTWARE 


Gambling Cascade stakes 
reputation on bookies’ bet 














High street bookmaker 
William Hill has thrown 
down the gauntlet to soft 
ware house Cascade which 
Claims that its horse racing 
tipster program has a 72 
per cent success rate. 

William Hill is offering 
Cascade £50 in free bets. If 
the Form Master program 
makes a profit then Cas- 
cade gains the winnings 
(and the prestige). If it fails 
to score then William Hill 
feels it has made its point. 

Either way the bookie 
is donating the money to a 
charity of New Computer 
Express's choice. 

The duel is taking place 
this Wednesday with a 


computer set up in William 
Hill's Harrogate branch - 
near Cascade's offices. 

The challenge comes as 
a direct response to Саз 
cade boss Nigel Stevens 
claiming that major book 
ies are displeased about 
Form Masters success. 
Allegedly, Cascade's 
longest losing streak is 
only nine races, 

When contacted by us, 
William Hill's Graham 
Sharpe retorted: "People 
have had systems since the 
year dot and we're still in 
business. There's no way 
we would be concerned by 
this gentleman's computer 
program.” 


Nevertheless, Cascade 
reckons that the Depart- 
ment of Trading Standards 
has given Form Master the 
72 per cent success rate. 
One employee at the firm 
claimed to be £900 up on 
50р and £1.00 stakes. 

But Stevens warned 
that Form Master is best for 
a whole season and could 
not be tested properly on 
the basis of five bets. He 
said Cascade would take 
up the gauntlet to enter the 
spirit of things, 

Form Master is current: 
ly available through mail 
order at £99.95. It should be 
in the shops by Christmas 
on most major formats, 





Return of the Ultimate Wulf 


Golden oldies from Ultimate such as Atic Atac and Sabre Wulf are soon to appear 
as 16-bit games courtesy of new software house 


Chrysalis. 


And hard-nosed 2000AD character Rogue Trooper 
has once again become the focus for an ambitious com- 
puter game project via a Chrysalis licence deal with IPC 
magazines. The original game was published by doomed 
software house Piranha and failed to impress. Chrysalis’ 
version is promised to be "completely different”. 


The original Spectrum versions of Atic Atac and 
Sabre Wulf (circa 1984 ) were number one hits for Ulti- 


mate and will be on the ST and Amiga by next Easter. 


гіл с 


© Sabre Wulf: now 16-bit 








ЕЕЕ NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS > 12 NOVEMBER 1988 











SSeS ESSE NE AS ШЫН 


















Г WAAURIITER) tulati 
| Д7СОМРОТЕВ sekk. 


the magazine 
that's about to 
set the world 
of computing 
on fire. 

New Computer 








LSP 


 PC2000: Early arrival 





@ SIX REASONS 
NOT TO BUY IT 
(and why they're wrong!) 









Express is 
|| "It's a computer weekly, so it must aimed at anyone afflicted 
pe brer Im | в by the computer bug. It 
е standard о! computer weeklies 2. 
І has been transformed. As of now. offers a comprehensive 





news, reviews and advice 


"It's not just for my computer." A a 
No, but it offers a surprising amount for | Service that's very fast and 
your machine (for starters check out very distinctive. We predict 
the machine-specific columns starting you'll find it the most 

| оп page 54). More than that, it'll give . up-to-the-minute 
you far deeper insights into the dynam- 


ic wider world of computing. Do you > understandable 
really want to spend your life іп a ghet А money-saving 





























Amstrad's new range of 286 PCs has machine 


to? i 
arrived in the UK - months earlier As a supplier of Amstrad comput- || ° Ы revealing 

than publicly stated by Alan Sugar ers Comet is becoming increasingly | "It doesn't look boring enough to * entertaining 
himself. important. It is already the exclusive be authoritative." . exhilarating 


As of this week the machines are seller of the low end Amstrad PC 
available in 80 Comet Business Cen- 200. It has been suggested that рге 
шев across the country. This conflicts vious Amstrad favourite Dixons has 
with earlier gloomy statements from fallen from grace having filled its 
Sugar that supplies would be slender shelves with competitors’ machines 
until the new year. When the PC2086 such as Olivetti's low cost PC 

line up was unveiled on 


September 13th he warned It offers too many tempting оррог- 


that the continuing D-Ram tunities for me to spend money” Ө VALUE FOR MONEY 
shortage would hamper True. With all the speed of a weekly itll — If you ever have a few minutes free, try 
availability, saying that few 


Neither does Mike Tyson. Both pack 
one helluva punch 





computer publication 
"Computer magazines are neve! you've ever read. So why 

re never "m 4 
comprehensible.” not try it? You have nothing 


You got this far, didn't you? Try the to lose, but your change. 
beginners section, page 43. 


















bring you the very latest bargains оп this experiment. Lay Express next to 

would be here until January the very latest products from Britain's another computer magazine and com- 
at the earliest The much talked about BBC emulator for leading advertisers - backed up by a pare the number of words on a page. 
One explanation for what È the Amiga will cost £50 when it finally remarkable voucher scheme which You'll be amazed just how much infor. 


has happened with the [| becomes available at the end of this year. allows you to more than recoup the mation we manage to pack into the 
PC2000s is that Amstrad had E x å c e- $ 
is strad hi oteren oui vant at мелі price of this magazine on your first pur- magazine - it's actually substantially 


publicly painted the picture ) Å chase. You'll just have to spend, that's тоге than some monthlies costing over 
blacker than it needed to, in |) Week's Commodore Show with Commodore all double the price 


order to make the eventual [| itself boasting that it will run Beeb soft- | #„ costs only 48р, so it can't be Loads of computer users would like 
"early" arrival seem like a vic- # ware on the Amiga faster than the Beeb any good.” to get a fresh supply of info every 
tory against the odds for the | itself. You're about to have your prejudices — Week, yet are reluctant to pay the exor 
firm. This was foreshadowed There has also been talk of the emulator shattered. bitant rates charged by some of our 
D AUGURI t being bundled with the Amiga at some competitors, Well now you can have 
the time of the launch, It || stage in the future. Commodore is merely © THE INCREDIBLE TIME ^" cake and eat it 

contained shipment expecta- [| Calling that "a possibility". ADVANTAGE 






































tions which directly conflict Currently, the software is working The time advantages New Computer @ SHOPPERS' PARADISE 

ed with Sugars own public § under the name Beebulator although that Express has over computer monthlies Апуопе shopping for computers, add. 

view. will be changed, Commodore's top brass are unbelievable. ons or software should look no further 
Comet is selling four mod. feel it's "too frivolous" for the stuffy educa- Not only does it come out four than the ad pages in this magazine, For 


els of the 286 ranging from È tion establishment toward which the emu- | | times as often, it is also printed and — two reasons. 
the £749 double disk drive Mi ыыы anad. distributed at far greater speed (23 * Express's weekly schedules mean 
Тро version ta А S days instead of 2-3 weeks.) This that advertisers can rush in their last 
bard drive: colour, шопо means we're able to report most minute special offers, plus details of 
events some FIVE WEEKS ahead of a е latest, hottest product launches. 
typical monthly * This magazine's unique voucher 

In the fastmoving world of comput- scheme means you'll always be able to 
ing that is a lethal advantage buy things cheaper in Express than 
If you're serious about discovering elsewhere. 
the latest developments and product Many of our advertisers already 
releases for your computer, you need ^ offer incredible discounts - add to that 
to read this magazine. It's not called — the voucher discount and youre laugh 
Express for nothing ing. All the way to the bank 








Shoot from the Lip... tne weeks most quotable sayings 













"Konix could easily be the next Amstrad, I hon- pared with Top of the Pops. They've still got 
estly believe that. What's more, they'll be bigger some of the spotty kids in the bedroom about 
and better than Amstrad. them. 

Bruce Everiss of Codemasters (and not of Konix. Programmer David Elite, Virus Braben 

Well, not yet...) 














Es: 





Itially, 
inn 


owerProject provide: 
The PC 200 is mediocre at best and the CGA nificant innovations in project s 
graphics are just appalling for games. To the пер е since the I 
argument It may be rubbish but look at all the Asta Development, making the rashest claim 
software, I have to say 1. It is rubbish 2. No, this century 
there arent so many games and 3. If you stand it 
side by side with an Amiga or an ST, you'd have "You want m; 
to be a real idiot to buy the PC 200. You aint having all about 
Jack Schofield, editor of the Computer Guardian market and there's no у I'd tell you. 
A senior Amstrad person who will remain 
‘Computer games are very boring when viewed anonymous if he sends a cheque to Express 
from the outside Theyre very dry when com- Blackmail Corner at the usual address 


the most sig: LAUNCH EDITOR Chris Anderson » CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Peter Worlock + NEWS EDITOR Colin 

Campbell « REVIEWS EDITOR Andy Storer - STAFF WRITER Rik Haynes « PRODUCTION EDITOR Rod 

Lawton- ART EDITOR Julia O'Shea» ADVERTISEMENT MANAGER Mark Salmon SALES EXECUTIVES 
Jenny Evans, Sophie Lankenau * AD TYPESETTING Di Tavener + PUBLISHER Greg Ingham 


Future Publishing Ltd - 4 Queen Street, Bath, BAT 1EJ « Tel: 0225 446034 + Fax: 0225 446019 


























he market? 









| New Computer Express comes from the publishers of Britain most dynamic computer tiles: — | 
PC Plus • 8000 Plus • Amstrad Action + ST Amiga Format «ACE | 
| 
| 













(FUTURE PUBLISHING 
Magazines programmed for the "906. 


























12 NOVEMBER 1988 • NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS 








Computer users will soon be 
able to write longhand onto 
their PCs. 

Wang has launched a sys- 
tem called Freestyle which 
enables users to write on a 
plastic pad using a lightpen. 
The data then appears on 
screen. Voice comments can 
also be transmitted onto the 
monitor. 

Wang is is claiming that 
Freestyle will revolutionise 
documentation and is reck- 


Commodore is planning to launch a 
low cost games machine based on 


ons its "as easy to use as 
writing on a piece of paper or 
picking up a telephone". 

Now the bad news. The 
system, including plastic 
tablet, pen and software 
costs around £1,200 with a 
voice module weighing in at 
just under £1,000. 

Wang expects Freestyle to 
be here by early spring. It 
works on any high resolution 
mono, or black and white 
monitor. 


Nonetheless, well-placed sources 
have told Express that a console is 


ҮТҮ 


© Freestyle: Write on? 


AMIGA GAMES 






EXPRESS 
EXCLUSIVE 


by Colin Campbell 


ONSOLE PLANNED 


Commodore's UK boss 
Franklin would neither confirm nor 
deny that any console plans exist 


Steve 





SHOCK 
SEX 
ҮРЕ 
SCAM 
PROBE 


Adult computer games are being 
imported from America by UK com- 
pany A-Soft. 

Its boss Tim Harris sees a grow- 
ing market for titles such as Sex Vix- 
ens from Outer Space. Based on 
graphics and text, the adventure 
game is claimed to feature plenty of 
nudity and squalid innuendo. 

However, this appears to be little 
more than a scam. Harris admitted 
to Express that "the sexual aspect is 
just a bit of hype". 

He added: "И took me four days 
before | saw anything worthwhile.” 
Nevertheless A-Soft is set to contin- 
ue importing these games from the 
States with a new one appearing 
every ten weeks. 

Amiga-owning pervies wanting Sex 
Vixens will have to pay £24.95, 


But he hinted that any console under 


the Amiga. due in the next few months. One 
Developments are under way in possible launch date would be Jan 
the US but it is understood that the uary next year, at the Consumer 


machine is still at an embryonic 
stage. Details such as price and time 
of availability have yet to be decid 
ей 

There has long been talk of a C64 
console — but with Atari, Sega and 
Nintendo launching 16-bit games 
machines this would have been seri 
ously outdated. It is known that 
Commodore has been disturbed by 
Nintendo's extraordinary success in 
the States. 

Some have argued that the Ami 
ga's profile as a multi-purpose com- 
puter would be damaged by the 
arrival’ of such a machine. Com: 
modore itself has argued in the past 
that it is a computer firm, rather than 
a games machine company. 


Electronmics Show in the US. 


Commodore's news follows 16-bit devel- 
opments from all the other major con- 
sole firms. 

€ Atari: As revealed by Express last 
week (in preview issue bundled with 
ACE magazine) Atari plan next year to 
be launching an ST console at under 
£100. That should be here in force well 
before Christmas '89. 

© Sega: А 16-bit console should arrive in 
the UK by September. It will run exist- 














development “wasn't a C64" adding 
1 can't say any more than that 


16-bit: the console giants begin to stir 


ing Sega software. 

€ Nintendo: A new machine is claimed 
to be ready but it won't be seen here for 
two or three years. The company is 
waiting for a software base to develop. 
€ Konix: Though not 16-bit, Konix's first 
console is believed to be scheduled for- 
launch early next year with a price tag 
close to £150. Pre-production versions 
are currently understood to be wowing 
software developers. 





TOP TEN b 


I 


FROM SPAGE 


аек 


€ Vixens: А scam? 





Last Ninja 2 








е 

45. Daley Thompson's Olympic Challenge Kl å ЕТ 
TILT: Football Manager 2 Addictive JE 
4 +, OutRun SegaUSGold 9 751% 

5 н Fists 'n Throtles Elite ee 

6 м WeåreThe Champions Ocean JP 

7 E Supreme Challenge ш * e 

8 з Starglider 2 3 IUE SY 

9 12 Gold Siver And Bronze US Gold se 1 
10 EF Taito Coin-ops a4 Ocean ° ө 











. 1 1 JoeBlade2 Players | 
e a ы 22 Bomb Jack EMT 
. 3 5 EndZone Alternative | 
47 Mis (4 N Commando тоз | 
. 5 (d Gauntlet Kix 
° ES wq ER EE E Footballer of he Year Kixx 
. 1 GE Air Wolf MD Encore 
8 4 Ace of Aces 3 Kix 
. 9 16 Advanced Pinball Simulator ^ Codemasters 
. ZU 7 7 European FiveaSide _ ИГЕ | 





ES + NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS • 12 NOVEMBER 1988 





———=20000E" >> rm 








Ocean picks up 


The Gauntlet... 





Ocean's penchant for licences contin- 
ues with the news that kids' TV show 
| Run The Gauntlet has been tied up. 

Featuring а whole range of weird 
amphibious vehicles and off beat rac- 
ing events the game, it is claimed, 
will stick closely to the TV formula. 

The show has gained some success 
amongst younger viewers with а 
series of motor buggies, water cycles 
and difficult courses. 

A game though won't be seen until 
next Easter - about the time when å 
new series starts. 

This latest deal follows Ocean tie 
ups for Schwarzenegger movie Red 
Heat and gangster film The Untouch- 
ables. 


and Grandslam 


grabs Greavsie 





TV soccer dinosaurs Saint and 
Greavsie are to appear on a computer 
game next Easter. 

Grandslam will be forwarding the 
twosome in a sports quiz title similar 
to the board game, Always one for the 
licences, Grandslam is reckoned to 
have forked out a fair whack for the 
use of the names. 

Meanwhile, the firm is on the 
verge of tying up another footballing 
licence likely to appear at around the 
same time as Saint and Greavsie. 





© Saint and Greavsi 





joing the quizness 


D-RAM WINDFALL BRINGS 
FORWARD NEW ATARI PCs 


The launch of Atari's PC4 and РС5 
machines has been brought forward 
by three months as a result of the 
firm easing its dire D-Ram chip sup- 
ply headache. The supply improve- 
ment will also allow more STs to be 
put on sale before Christmas. 

Atari says that its D-Ram problem 
has been solved following agree 
ments with two chip manufacturers 
erman based Siemens and a Far 
stern firm 

Chip problems have constrained 
the firm for much of this year. Avail: 
ability of the PCs has been delayed 
with those D-Rams in Atari hands 
being used in STs 

The improvement in ST supplies is 
a direct contrast to the situation this 
time last year. Shortages were rife 
and at one point Atari was actually 
forced to airfreight batches of 
machines into the UK. Hardware 










The new machines 
PC4 


80286-based microprocessor; 
switchable clock speed 12MHz to 
8MHz; 512K RAM expandable to 
1Mb; VGA, EGA, CGA, MDA, HGC 
720 x 348 mono graphic, 80 x 24 
mono text; 5.25" floppy disk; exter- 
nal connector for ST and PC drives; 
two serial ports; and one parallel 
port. 
РС5 

Intel 32-bit 80386; clock speed 
6MHz and 16MHz; 1024K of RAM; 
64K of ROM; 5.25" floppy disk; 
optional VGA, EGA, CGA, MDA and 
and HGC; and optional mouse, 
serial port and parallel port. 








Multi-tasking? Logotron's game 


How useful is a multi-tasking 
game? Logotron reckons it's a cork 
er of an idea and in an attempt to 
prove it, is launching the first such 
offering for the Amiga 

Prospector from Logotron is in 
fact a broader version of maze 
game Xor already available on 8- 
bit machines and the ST. This ver 
sion though has been tweaked 
hither and thither with a few more 





mazes and the like. Also, those 
who undertake low level produc. 
tivity work on their Amigas can 
dip in and out of the game at will — 
that at least is the theory. 

You can do a couple of things at 
once," offered Logotrons Herbie 
Wright. "People working on their 


Amiga might feel like some recre- 
ation so they can easily spend half 
an hour on Prospector." 



























manufacturers though are AH H 
Toce e P Efficient chips 
shortages since such talk 

generally aids sales. This Never mind the D-Ram chip shortage - the super 
policy appears to have chips are coming. Wee beasties the size of a finger- 


been rejected for the com- 
ing selling season. 

The PC4 286 and РС5 
386 will be generally avail 
able from the end of this 
month with retail prices of 
£1,299.99 and £2,999.99 respec 
tively. 


nail which can store the contents of more than five 
average paperbacks are due to tested by Japanese 
giant NEC. Or, to put it another way, these chips can 
hold 16 millidn bits of basic information - around 
600,000 words. And to put that another way, 
around half a year's worth of this magazine 
could be fitted onto a single chip. 








© PCS: Atari cashes its chips. 


Digging the Amiga 


The impossibly cold months are upon us and outdoor activists are 
scuttling into shelter - not least among them are the archaeologists. 

Diggers working on an Anglo-Saxon and Roman site in North York- 
shire are keeping busy by studying the entire site on an Amiga, A 2D 
map of the whole seven acres is kept on an A2000's database and 
archaeologists can zoom in on any particular area and go into full 
analytical mode. 

Also, they are keeping video sequences and stills of finds on the 
machine. That whole caboodle is soon to be presented as an educa- 
tion database for budding antiquarians to ponder over. 








12 NOVBEMBER 1988 • NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS • ра 


NEWS SS 





Games written for home computers 
aren't yet good enough for the 
arcades. 

That's the view of would be 
games to coin-op converter Alan Nel 
son. His company East Midlands 
Leisure has spent the best part of 
this year trawling around the pub: 
lishers for software to use in ST 
based coin-op machines. The idea 
was that games could be changed 
regularly within the cabinets by sim 
ply swapping software 


Programs 
which speak 
to the bind 


Blind computer users, hardly sur- 
prisingly, face numerous problems 
not fully appreciated by most soft- 
ware houses. 

So developer ACK Data pre- 
sented its Text to Speech PC pro- 
gram to various associations for 
the visually handicapped to be 
tested. 

They pointed out that when 
errors occur blind people cannot 
know what's going on. On screen 
error messages are useless. 

The upshot? ACK is now revis- 
ing the £300 program so that it 
uses its speech facility to explain 
and help put right any errors as 
they occur. 


























Ace pack on the cards 
Archimedes graphics freaks may be 
interested to learn that Ace has upgrad- 
ed its £45 3D Euclid package to incor 
porate new lighting, shading and con 
trast effects. 


Amiga to hear more 

A new music composition language 
which uses straight code as opposed 
to hanging notes on bars is soon to be 
launched by Ariadne for the Amiga. 
Opus 1 should suit seasoned midi 
buffs and will cost around £50. 


Hybrid drives hard bargain 
A range of hard disk drives for the Atari 
ST will soon be available from music 
specialist Hybrid Arts. For those on a 
tight budget it's worth noting that the 










ARCADES: ST GAMES 
NOT GOOD ENOUGH 


However the games 
havent sparked, taking an 
average of only £1.20 a day 
- something like a quarter 
of a normal arcade 
machine. Nelson says most 
software doesn't grab peo 
ple in the same way that 
the Japanese coin-op 
games do. The games 
involved include 

€ Thunderbird from Elite 
one of the least popular. 

€ Backlash from Novagen 
"boring" says Nelson 

€ Barbarian from Palace - high yield 











put still falling short of expectations. Star Ray and Better Dead Than 

Nonetheless Nelson is undaunt- Alien from Entertainment Interna 
ed. He claims to have found a lack of tional. "The response for the others 
enthusiasm from the software hous- has been poor. I believe ST games 
es themselves. One deal which fell can run on arcade machines. We just 


through after lengthy negotiations 
was with English Software (US Gold) 


& Backlash: Too boring for coin-ops? 





— 
о 5. © 


for the old favourite Leviathan. 
He's hopeful to sign up Logotron's 





need games which can be taken at 
face value. 








A chance for the boss to do better 


Spare a moment for the boss. It's possible that he may even be 


aware of his shortcomings in handling employees. 

With this in mind Ivy Software is offering six £50 PC packages 
geared to helping managers handle their people properly. The menu 
driven course is said to cover most of the potential "them and us" 
disasters and includes written tests. 

If you see one of the packages in your boss's office, you'll know 
he's trying 












British Rail has found the 
itself in something of a 
tight spot after losing an 


ST User. 


presumably s 


ished lay outs 


% One they made earlier 


to Red Star which had ^ unenviable 


FIVER FAVOUR 


Two Mini Office programs for the ST have had a fiver lopped off 
their price - before they've even been launched. 

The spreadsheet and communications modules have both 
been dropped from £29.95 to £24.95. Publisher Database puts 


this down to "recognising that at the lower price more will be 
sold". Or, to put it another way, recognising that at the higher 
price rather fewer would be sold. 

Each of the budget priced modules is complete with the 
likes of a text editor and calculator. Database reckons it's 
cheaper than anything else available and “technically more 








task of delivering the fin- 
to 
printer. Much to the dis: 


Not the person that may, even horror, 
is, but the monthly mag- Database, the thing was 
azine. Publisher mislaid. 
Database entrusted the Databases шп 
whole December edition nate journos had 


advanced" 


entry level desk top HDX77 Megabyte 
version costs £1,449.95. Yes, really 








IBM patents 







are a virtue 


Taiwanese PC clone manufacturer 
Mitac has followed Amstrad's lead and 
signed a patents agreement with IBM. 

This, in theory, gives both compa- 
nies the right to use each others intel- 
lectual property. However, central to 
the deal is IBM's PS/2 technology 
which Mitac will be using for a new 
range of machines currently under 
development. 

The deal will cost Mitac between 
one and five per cent of all sales 
depending on the product and where 
it is sold. 

Also, IBM has gained a one per 
cent royalty on all prior Mitac PC sales 
as recompense for the use of its 
patents. IBM has long been threaten- 
ing that it will seek compensation 
from companies infringing patents 
without prior agreement. It has been 
trying to use the lever of PS/2 rights 
being dependent on paying an MS- 
DOS royalty. 

Although a number of leading 
manufacturers have signed PS/2 
rights, there is still a body of opinion 
that the new standard faces a long 
struggle before it can be deemed to 
have succeeded. 





imple task of redoing the 
whole edition of ST User 
Hardly surprisingly the 
publisher is absolutely 
livid with BR and is tak 
ing legal advice in order 
to gain "not insubstan 
tial’ compensation. 


its 


of 


fortu 
the 


and frantic 


- ince 


gout 


Mini Office: Cut to fit 








Бег + NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS + 12 NOVEMBER 1988 












SPECTRUM 








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EEE EXPRESS ANALYSIS am 








A school crammed 
with Archimedes 


new era in learning is being 
A ushered in by the Governmen- 

ts education officialdom, and 
with it a new model student - the 
fully computerised version. 

Its flagship is a ‘new’ school in Soli- 
hull - Kingshurst — paraded as the 
first City Technology College. 

In essence, the establishment is an 
extraordinary learning centre 
crammed with Archimedes comput 
ers, a barrage of technical trappings 
and a modern office look throughout 
quite alien to the familiar classroom 
structure. Mr Chips has finally been 
replaced by silicon chips. 

The Department of Education and 
Science is planning two more CTCs 
next year and others to follow, 

Not surprisingly, the arguments are 
furious. Education traditionalists say 
that computers, whilst necessary, are 
only a minor aspect of schooling. 

Industrialists say that a complete 
overhaul of the system is needed to 
produce a computer-literate genera- 
tion of fresh faced employees. 


Heaven sent 

In the classrooms of Kingshurst, 
pupils are kitted out with masses of 
Archimedes, many of which are net 
worked across the school. There's 
also talk of providing the students 
with computers for the home at dis- 
count prices. Acorn can only raise its 
eyes thankfully to heaven 

Then there's expensive kit in the 
science and languages departments 
(including satellite TV) 

Subjects in which computers are 
used during lessons include the sci 
ences, mathematics, geography and 
even English Whether Daley 
Thompson's Olympic Challenge will 
replace athletics isn't yet clear. 

The Government is funding the 
CTC project through industry. Well, 
thats the theory. Industry hasn't 
been so generous as had been 
hoped. 

Each school costs between £6 mil- 
lion and £7 million to set up. A fistful 
of companies mostly based in the 
midlands (or with plants there) con- 
tributed about half that figure. 


Best of British? 
The choice of the Archimedes and, to 
а lesser extent, Research Machines, 
is an obvious one. The government 
has long believed that education 
would be better served by British 
companies (even if Acorn is a whol- 
ly-owned subsidiary of Italian firm 
Olivetti). 

Still, US firms also have a look in. 


As 180 11-year-olds 
begin lessons at the first 





of a string of heavily 





computerised schools, 
COLIN CAMPBELL tunes 
in to a debate which 
could crucially affect Е 


both education апа com- 


puting in Britain. E 


Three voices in the debate 


€ The Politician 

Like his superior Kenneth Baker, 
JOHN BUTCHER has moved over 
from the Department of Trade and 
Industry. His background is in the 
computer industry. 


Why were these schools introduced? 
"People need to be aware of the 
computer as an all-important tool. It 
affects every business, industrial and 
management process, There is a 
need to be aware of what they do. 
No 16 or 18 year old school leaver 
should have any reason to be afraid 
or nervous of computers - which was 
the case in previous years." 


But isn't this wealth of technology being 
dished out to the select few to the detri- 
ment of other schools? 

"There is a very generous provision 
of computers across the state sector 
in secondary and junior schools." 


Are the CTCs a technologyled form of 
the old grammar school system? 

"CTCs are not selective. There is no 
11 Plus. The recommendation for 
Students comes from teachers 
together with the express wishes of 
parents." 


Have you been surprised by the level of 
criticism aimed at the CTC scheme? 

"Not at all. It's the usual forces of 
opposition locking in. Parents in 
Labour-controlled local authorities 
don't like anything that smacks of 
speciality or excellenc: 











€ The Local Headmaster 
MICHAEL CORRIGAN is the principal 
of the largest Comprehensive in Soli- 
hull - Archbishop Grimshaw. It cur- 
rently has some 3,100 students and 
is kitted out with some Beebs and an 
Archimedes. Corrigan sees this as 
sufficient. 


What's your objection to the CTCs? 

"To put so much into one school is 
immoral and not cost-effective. It's a 
kick in the teeth for the comprehen- 
sive system and it's been created in 
the teeth of verbal opposition. 

It's part of the current philosophy 
that State education is a failure. The 
CTC is a flagship which, Kenneth 
Baker has pinned his colours to." 


Do you expect the CTC to affect the aver- 
age intelligence of your pupil intake? 

"I expect we'll lose a few but not too 
many. But it's difficult for parents to 
resist all the hype and media cover- 
age. It's hard for parents who want 
the best for their children." 


But isn't it good to use computers in this 
way? 

"With the: resóürces available to us 
we've been able to make broad use 
of information technology with tech- 
nical courses and media studies 
courses. But | don't think I'd want my 
10 year old to be sitting in front of a 
computer all day." 








€ The Industr 

ALAN CARTER is the chairman and 
managing director of Hiton interna- 
tional, a company which makes gear 
boxes. He donates £500 a year to 
the CTCs, presumably rather less 
than fellow sponsors such as Austin 
Rover and Hanson. 


Presumably you support the CTC? 

"I'm in favour of what the Govern- 
ment is doing, but it's a shame that 
industry has to pay. | mean it's a 
laugh. it's all wrong." 


If you take that view why has Hiton 
become involved? 

"| disagree with the way it's been 
done but you can't duck out of 
responsibilities. We haven't donated 
much but if everybody did something 
then we wouldn't have such a short- 
age of skills. That's a problem we 
face every week." 


But will computers help increase the level 
of skilled workers? 

“Frankly I'd prefer to see managers 
and engineers going in and having 
some input. | mean the world isn't 
about computers. It's more than that. 
Academics teach everything possible 
except how to earn a living." 


Are you surprised by the criticisms laid at 
the Government's door? 

"If you don't do anything you get crit- 
icised and if you do something you 
get criticised. | could rant for two 
hours over that...” 





— 





Theres an IBM mainframe installed 
at Kingshurst as well as PS/2s using 
2.11 version of Novell And the 
Amiga is under review for CTC art 
and design departments. 

In the North of England, the 'hands 
on' ratio of students and computers 
is 70:1. In the CTCs it's likely to be 


4:1 or even less. 

Nationwide, schools have an aver- 
age of 18 computers - many of which 
have seen better days. Kingshurst 
has well over a hundred brand, 
spanking new micros 

Logically, that would suggest that 
the CTC students will step out 


armed with rather more than GCSE 
passes. And, it follows, they'll have 
tather more than their counterparts 
in the likes of Archbishop Grimshaw 
Comprehensive. 

The employers of tomorrow will be 
left to decide whether or not CTC is 
a euphemism for grammar school. 











12 NOVEMBER 1988 • NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS > 

















А 

PROUD OWNER 

Im the proud owner of a Tandy TRS- 
80 (with 16k memory expansion pack and 
added sound-board) and l'm disgusted to 
note that you have not devoted a single col 
umn inch (apart from this one - Ed) to cov- 
ering this machine. 

Are you oblivious to the fact that there's а 
huge body of incredibly active TRS-80 own- 
ers out there? 

Aren't you aware of the remarkable pro- 
grams now available for this machine, such 
as the Noughts and Crosses simulator 


column at the back of your organ. Is Simon 
Williams а god? It seems incredible that an 
ordinary mortal human could know so much 
about so many things! 

Please pass on the enclosed £50 note as 
a contribution to his expenses and then 


| answer me this question: Why is it that you 


have to print the words of this genius in 
such tiny print? The only way | am able to 
read his column is by cutting out the page 
and inserting it under a microscope. This of 
course is well worth the effort, however one 
jog on the elbow and a whole paragraph 
may be passed over. 

Yours in frustration 


| Mrs $ Williams, Black Torrington 


released by my company DeadSoft only last 


year? 
Dafydd Llangwynydd, Bridgend 


Yes. No. 


I HATE YOUR GUTS 
Dear Express 

Luse the word ‘dear’ solely because it is 
the traditional way of opening a letter. It is 
most definitely not intended as a term of 
endearment 

The fact is | hate your guts. 


For years now I have been able to discov- | 


er all the interesting bits printed in comput: 
er magazines without actually buying them. 
Whenever a new issue comes along | take 
great pleasure in flicking through it at Mr 
Bhopal's local newsagency, noting the bits 
of value and satisfying myself that I would 
be wasting my money to actually buy it. I 
have saved myself a fortune this way. 

Now yours comes along, | try the same 
technique - and it fails. The fact is it took 
me an hour and a half to get through the 
first 22 pages and by that time Mr Bhopal 
was giving me even dirtier looks than the 
chap next to me perusing Mayfair. 

How dare you pack so much into a maga: 
zine so that | now have to fork out 48p a 
week on it? That money could have been 
well spent — on half a pint of a downmarket 
lager for example (I can make that last an 
hour and a half as well, you know, especial 
ly when it's my round next). 

Please try to make your magazine a bit 
less interesting in future, 

Ivor Meanstreak, Glasgow 


We quite see your point, Ivor. No 


doubt there are other popular computing 
weeklies you could look at instead. 


PRINT TOO SMALL 
I own an Amstrad PC and am overwhelmed 
by the quality of writing in the PC Update 


Simon denies being а god and we can 
confirm this. No god would be so unethical 
as to accept a £50 bribe - even from its 
wife. 

The print is small precisely because the 
writing is so good. There is a fixed, limited 
space for each of the 10 machine-specific 
colums (otherwise they'd take over the 
whole magazine) and within that space we 
want to cram in as much info as possible. 
Bigger print, fewer words. 





TEETHING TROUBLES 

I have just bought an Amstrad PC 1640 to 
run my business but have not had much 
luck yet in actually getting the thing up and 
running. 

The first thing I did when it arrived 
through the post from Boxshift Mail Order 
was unpack it and put it all together. But 
there's one cable Im confused about. It has 
three coloured wires protruding from it - 
brown, blue and a sort of stripey green and 
yellow one. I have tried poking this into the 
disk drive slot because | had heard that 
pokes were important їп computing. Howev. 
er, nothing seems to have happened. 

Since my business involves offering 


| investment advice to pensioners | would be 


grateful for your help as soon as possible. 
Dr Matthew Golddigger, Broadmoor 


You've baffled us with that one, Doc. 
Perhaps one of our readers can help? 


PEN PALS 

Hil Im a 19-year-old Swedish girl just visit 
ting England for a six month computor stud- 
ies coarse. | lov to play games with my Atari 
ST and | have akcess to a wide range of 
softwear. Plez could you put me in contakt 
with other ST peeple in this area to carry 
out compatibility tests 

Ingrid Svendsen, Box 58, Soho 


Nice photo, shame about the spelling. 


DISTURBED 

Am I alone in being disturbed by the fre- 
quent use in your publication of the word 
programme" spelt without its last two let 
ters? 

Prof. Anthony Archibald-Smythe, 
Oxford 


Yes. 


WICKED 

Hey! Your mag is WICKED. The reviews are 
mega-cool and the voucher scheme is brill I 
have cancelled my subscription to the 
Beano so | can buy yours every week 
instead, 

R S Licker, London 

PS. Do I win this week's prize? 


No. 


PATHETIC 
Your new rag is pathetic. Fancy having а 
computer magazine without any program 
listings. What are we supposed to do with 
it? Read it? 

You must be joking. 

Please cancel my subscription. 
Adam Bonehead, Southampton 


What subscription? 


CONFUSED 
I am very confused about graphics stan- 
dards on the PC. Just what does all this 
stuff about EGA, CGA, and VGA actually 
mean? And why is it that none of the 1ВМ- 
compatible’ programs | buy for my IBM: 
compatible’ ever runs? 

Please run a feature on this topic as soon 
as possible. 
A Sugar, Brentwood 

Yours is just one of thousands of let 

ters we've received recently on this sub 
ject. By a remarkable coincidence we have 
the very feature you're looking for in this 
issue! Page 29. 











What's going on at Amstrad? Is Alan Sugar mad? 

Just look at the facts. In 1986 he snaps up rights to the Sin- 
clair name and takes over manufacture of the best-selling 
Spectrum. His marketing people trumpet the fact that now 
Amstrad can use the Amstrad label for the more serious/bor- 
ing business machines while the Sinclair label will do nicely to 
ав a marketing angle for the thronging millions of youngsters 
from whom ‘Sinclair’ means 'game-playing computer’. 

In 1987 he muddies the waters somewhat by bringing out 
the Sinclair Spectrum Plus 2 and Plus 3, neither of which 
manages to excite anyone particularly, although they can at 
least run Spectrum software. 

But now in 1988 he goes and launches the ‘Sinclair Profes- 
sional’, the so-called games machine that also has serious 
applications. 

Games Machine?! Codswallop. This nasty little unit can only 
generate four colours. Four?!!! That's 12 fewer than the Spec- 
trum managed in 1982. And what colours are they? Well, one 
of them is black and frankly that shouldn't count as a colour 








IS ALAN SUGAR MAD? 


at all! And the other three are normally white - which also 
doesn't count - a nauseating light-blue so-called ‘cyan’ and an 
even more nauseating pinkish so-called ‘magenta’! Can't even 
play Pac-Man properly on that setup unless you want one of 
the ghosts the same colour as the maze! 

Even the sound is little better than the classic Spectrum 
beep which at least had no pretensions. Frankly any existing 
Sinclair owner who thinks he's upgrading by buying that thing 
is in for a nasty shock. 
C Sinclair, Cambridge 


Perhaps Mr Sugar has concluded Sin- 
clair owners of old are now looking to do 
much more on a computer than just play 
games. Perhaps he thinks many of them аге now 
on the lookout for an industry-standard PC, so why not offer 
them one bearing the Sinclair name they love so well 

There again, perhaps he's mad. 











DISGUSTING PRICES 

I would just like to spout on for a page or 
three of virtually illegible writing about the 
disgustingly high price of games software 
it's no wonder so many people pirate 
games when it costs over £8 just to get 
one crummy title and even more on the 
Amiga which my friend has so why don't 
the software houses do something about 
it before (that's enough spouting - Ed) 
Spotty Youth, Dorking 


HOW DARE YOU 

How dare you publish a picture of a Spec- 
trum when everyone knows the machine 
is utterly useless?! My Commodore 64 is 
far better, even if the Basic is pathetic 
and central processor does run at half 
the Speccy's speed. At least it has a 
decent sound-chip and doesn't suffer 
from attribute-clash and (that's enough 
mu-slinging - Ed) 

Captain Zardos, Bognor Regis 


TECHNOLOGY CONVERT 

Being totally unfamiliar with computers, it 
was with enormous trepidation that, three 
years ago to the month, I bought my 
Amstrad PCW 8256 with a view to typing 
up the unpublished novel I've been work- 
ing on in my spare time over the last 23 
years. Yet my fears proved totally 
ungrounded. It took me only five weeks to 
understand the first three pages of the 
manual, and now | find | can load in a disk 
and type in a paragraph from scratch 
totally unaided in less than the time it 
used to take my secretary to finish off a 
complete chapter on her Remington 
portable! 

Please find enclosed my life history and 
(for your interest) the first 22 paragraphs 
of the navel, all of which - as you can see 
from the dirty smudges at the top of the 
pages - have genuinely been printed out 
оп the Amstrad PCW printer (except for 
paragraph 15 which I had to ask my sec- 
retary to retype on her Remington 
because it contained a spelling error.) 

I am now a total convert to the new 
technology and can barely wait to begin 
laying out my local golf club s monthly 
newsletter using a 'Desk Top Publishing’ 
program | have recently ordered and on 
which | would like to ask the following 38 
questions - | have enclosed a stamped 
addressed envelope for your reply and 
(That's enough agony - Ed) 

Colonel Henry Bagshott, Cheltenham 


Now it's your turn 
admit it. These 
are made up. ТІ 
after all, issue 1 
Ve'd much rather print 
uine ones, so why not oblige 
by giving us your views on 
anything to do with th 
world of computing or New 


a mystery pack- 
es for their соп 


ЕСЕ Mail, 4 Queen St, 
Bath, Avon BA1 1EJ 











* NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS • 12 NOVEMBER 1988 








Includes STEM with IMEG drive, 21 games with 
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Only £349.00 


520 STFM latest version with 1MEG drive fitted 
520 STFM memory upgrade kit, full fitting instructions included 
1040 STFM latest model, including TV modulator . 
1040 STEM as above, with mono monitor 
1040 STFM inc. same extras as supplied with above ‘Super Pack’ 
1040 STFM pack as above, with SM124 monito 
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SLMBO4 laser printer, great value at . 
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5.25" External drive 40/80 track 360/720K formatted capacity 
Pace Linnet Modem Pack inc.cable & software 
ne 1022 14" TV/Monitor inc.full remote control and cable .. 
Philips CM8833 colour monitor c/w ST or Amiga cable £259. 
Philips CM8852 as above, higher resolution £299.00 
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Oceanic OC-118 64/128 disk drive for 64/128 with free GEOS softwar 
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Peter Worlo: master 


The day of the PC compatible as 
home computer has been a long time 
coming but it's here with a 
vengeance now. Hard on the heels of 
Amstrad's Sinclair Professional 
comes the Euro PC from German 
manufacturer Schneider - former 
friends and partners now in head to 
head competition. 

You cant get the price of a PC 
down to home computing levels 
without cutting a few comers in the 
process. So the question is, what 
exactly are you getting for your 
money? 


Smart, modern appearance 
Physically, the computer itself is a 
single unit, rather like an overweight 
PC keyboard, and includes a more or 
less standard keyboard but with 
twelve function keys rather than the 
usual ten. These are arrayed horizon- 
tally across the top rather than in the 
more common vertical position on 
the left. 

The most noticeable difference is 
the wide extension on the right 
which houses a single 3.5 inch floppy 
disk drive offering 750K of storage. 
This faces forward, a better arrange- 
ment than the right hand side option 
used by both the Atari STs and Com- 
modore's Amiga A500. 

At the rear of the keyboard is a 
comprehensive collection of expan- 
sion ports, providing interfaces for 
parallel printer, RS232C serial for 
modem or printer, an external floppy 
disk drive, an external hard disk, and 
а mouse/joystick port. Sadly, по 
mouse is supplied with the machine 

The whole unit is styled in an off- 
white plastic with a raised rear edge 
diagonally slashed for ventilation 
giving the Euro PC a very smart 
modern appearance. If the competi- 
tion between it and the Sinclair Pro 
was a beauty contest the Eufo PC 
would win hands down 


Very nippy 
Documentation is comprehensive 
and - unusually — well done. The 





FIRST 


HANDS ON TEST! 


the PC clone, assesses 


introduction to the hardware is clear- 
ly written, with the welcome addi- 
tion of complete pin out diagrams for 
all the interfaces. The MS-DOS and 
GW-Basic manuals are standard 
Microsoft but even these appear to 
have been specially typeset for 
Schneider and are much better than 
some I've seen. 

Inside the machine (not that youre 
ever likely to see it) the main proces- 
sor is an 8088 clocked at 4.77MHz, 
7.16MHz and 9.54MHz and the speed 
cab be changed from the keyboard. 
This makes it very nippy at the top 
rate, but gives you the option of 
slowing down games and other 
speed-sensitive software. 

Graphics are handled by a custom 
video adaptor built in to the PC and 
offering either Hercules compatible 
monochrome or CGA displays. The 
latter provides 16-colour text and 
four colour graphics modes, but text 
can be difficult to read over long 
periods. The Euro PC comes with 
either mono or colour monitor and 
the review machine was supplied 
with a 14 inch CGA unit that provid- 
ed a sharp, bright, rock steady dis- 
play. (The down side is that you can't 
buy a Euro PC without monitor, so if 
you buy an EGA display youll have 
one more monitor than you need or 
want.) 


Expansion problems 

The Euro PC comes with 512K of 
main memory which is best 
described as adequate. Most PCs 
take up to 640K or 1Mb on the moth- 
erboard but because the Schneider is 
a closed box this isnt an option here. 
If you want more memory, you have 
to use an expansion card - and this 
is where the aforementioned short- 
cuts raise their heads. 

The single greatest benefit of the 
PC standard is its expandability, and 
most PCs offer anything from three 
io five slots for expansion cards. 
However, those cards take up a great 
deal of space — and were obviously 
the first thing to go in the Schneider 


VARE 


REVIEW 











© 512K RAM. 
© Single 3.5” drive. 


© Slot for half length 


£399+VAT. 


The Euro PC Spec 


€ 8088 processor running at up to 9.54 MHz. 


© Ports for mouse, serial, centronics, expansion 


€ £549+VAT including CGA colour monitor. 
© Available with mono (Hercules graphics) monitor for 


Schneider are also distributing the ‘Tower AT' range 
which consists of 14 models ranging in price from a 
remarkable £799 to £1999 +VAT. 






expansion card. 














the (v 


design. What youre left with is a sin- 
gle slot for a PC half length card 
Schneider has accommodated this 


Give it the Works 


Bundled software tends to have a poor 
reputation, often consisting of a rag 
bag of very old or second rate pro- 
grams the are barely worth the price of 
the disks theyre held on. With 
Microsoft Works however, Schneider 
has done buyers a real favour. 

Works is a powerful integrated pack- 
age offering word processing, 
database, spreadsheet with graphics 
and communications all in one. Each 
module is a full featured application in 
its own right, but you can mix and 
match data from each. It means that 
once you've added a printer to your 
Euro PC, you can immediately get down 
to some serious computing. 

And since Works normally sells at 
more than £100, it makes the Schnei- 
der look like particularly good value. 





aggressivel 





The Schneider gambit 






















in elegant fashion: a section of the 
case on the left side slides out 
revealing a standard card connector. 
Your card is easily slotted into place 
lying flat and horizontally across the 
case. The case section slides back 


into position, leaving the output 
ports from the card visible from the 
rear of the PC. This leaves Amstrad's 
solution for the PC200 looking like a 
bodge (because although the Sinclair 
takes two cards, you have to perma- 
nently remove the top of the case 
and have your cards sticking out 
where they are exposed to dust, pry- 
ing finders and sudden impact from 
any stray object). 

The single slot limitation is really 
the key to weighing up the Euro PC. 
On the one hand, Schneider has 
already provided most of the things 
you'd normally use a slot for; mouse 
port, and serial and parallel inter- 
faces. Оп the other hand, the slot is 
too small to take a hard disk card. 
You'll really have to think about what 


riced Euro Р! 





that slot gets used for. If you add an 
EGA graphics adaptor (highly attrac- 
tive) you can't expand the memory. 
And so on. 

And when the slot is filled, all fur- 
ther expansion has to be external. A 
fully expanded Euro PC promises to 
be a thing of supreme ugliness. And 
even the largest expanse of execu- 
tive mahogany will vanish under the 
PC, a monitor, a floppy drive, a hard 
drive, a modem, a printer, a mouse 
and all the associated cabling 


Express Verdict 
First there's the question of whether 
you want a PC compatible at all. If 
your main interest is playing arcade 
games, or dabbling in computer 
graphics, you'd be far better choos- 
ing an Amiga or ST. The Schneider is 
aimed at those with a more serious 
use in mind (although there is the 
growing range of PC games as an 
added bonus). 

As a simple PC compatible the 


Euro PC has a lot 
HIGHLIGHTS 





going for it. At 
£399 for the 
mono version, 
and £549 for the 
colour, it's fast, it 
looks good and it 
gives you access 
to the enormous 
range of PC soft. 
ware. If your 
ambitions for the 
machine are low, 
theres not much 
to criticise. And 
the bundled copy 
of Microsoft 
Works is a definite plus 

However, if you think you'll eventu- 
ally want more from the machine, 
there are real problems. The lack of 
expansion slots, and the need to 
have lots of peripherals cluttering up 
your desk, make it much less attrac- 
tive than а traditional PC compatible 
like the Amstrad PC2086, PC1640, or 
any of the dozens of other sub £1,000 
systems available. е 





Works 
© Fast, relatively power- 
ful entry level system 


© Attractive design 


DRAWBACKS 


© Severely limited inter- 
па! expansion 











12 NOVEMBER 1988 * NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS * 








Free copy of Microsoft 


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Screenshots trom 
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ГНЕ FUT! 


aS ee COVER FEATURE EN 


D 



















Express talks in depth to the people who control what 
computing will be like in five years' time. 


As 1988 draws to a close, the world of personal computing gives every 
impression of surging vitality. 

* More people are buying computers than ever before. 

+ A wider variety of tasks is being entrusted to computers by a wider variety 
of users. 

* Most areas of the market are reporting growth, excitement and a constant 
flow of remarkable new products. 

+ The terrifying plunge of 1984-5 which saw literally hundreds of computer- 
related companies go bankrupt has been all but forgotten. 

But where is it all heading? Will the machines around today still be making 
the grade next year? In five years' time? 

Are games consoles about to take the UK leisure industry apart? cum 

Will IBM's PC standards further strengthen their stranglehold in serious com- С 
puting? 

Can 8-bit computers survive another 12 months? 

And what about Atari and Commodore's 16-bit machines? Will they move from 
strength to strength or be swallowed by the all-conquering PCs? 

We spoke in depth to seven of the UK computer industry's most influential 
people who offered intriguing, detailed predictions of where the four main strands 
of personal computing — PCs, other 16-bit machines, 8-bit machines and games 
consoles - are headed: . 

Now you too can gaze into the future. 07 


12 NOVEMBER 1988 • NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS + 











t= Cont from previous page 
























DEFINITION: Any machine compatible with the 
personal computers produced by IBM. 
EXAMPLES: Amstrad 1512, 1640 (pictured), 
and 2000 ranges, Sinclair PC200, plus numer- 
ous machines from Tandon, Compaq, etc. 
FACT: PCs have massive domination in the 
business market worldwide. In the United 

States they are also the leading leisure 

machines (excluding consoles). 

QUESTION: How will PCs develop in the UK 

over the next five years? 









DEFINITION: A range of second-generation 
computers with very fast and power- 
ful central processors. 
EXAMPLES: Atari ST, Com- 
SNC modore Amiga. 
\ FACT: STs have to date sub- 
„д stantially outsold Amigas in 
the UK (perhaps 130,000 units 
to 50,000). But in most of 
Europe and America, the 
Amiga is the big winner. 
QUESTION: Which machine will win 


long term? And how bright a future 
does either have? 
















DEFINITION: The original generation 
of home computers - relatively simple 
central processors and limited memory. 
EXAMPLES: Sinclair Spectrum, Com- 
modore 64 (pictured), Amstrad CPC. 

FACT: Despite all the talk of 16-bit, the 
UK leisure computing market remains 
heavily dominated by the 8-bit machines 
(around 75% by value). 









DEFINITION: A computer without a key- 
board, marketed as a game machine. 
EXAMPLES: Nintendo, Sega (pictured). 
FACT: The latest profits recorded by Nin- 
tendo exceeded the combined worldwide sales of 
all leisure software publishers. 

QUESTION: Having conquered America and Japan, will Nintendo 
(and other consoles) now take over in the UK? 










"The PCs dominate in the UK business mar- 
ket partly by default. The Mac has not been 
sold well over here, with Apple going for 
small numbers and high prices. But the 
domination will not continue: there'll be an 
increasingly bloody battle with the non PCs 
making a strong impact at the lower level. 
"PCs suffer greatly from what I'd call soft- 
ware drag. Companies can't afford to 
throw them out, and so the technological 
generations take much longer than in the 
games market. If you can sustain revolu- 
tions, you can have progress at a terrific 
rate. That's why home machines will 
become so much more powerful than small 
business micros, where they are commit- 
ted to continuity, software portability and 
all that crap. IBM are having an awful time 
trying to persuade people that DOS was 


Sector 2. 16-bit – Leisure takeover? 


“People are still finding ways to utilise 
today's generation of machines like the ST 
and Amiga. There's still a lot of life left with 
an expanding software base. They'll still be 
there in three years. In two years some- 
thing new will come along but it will need to 
wait two years for an established software 
base - which is the lifeblood of hardware. 

"In three years’ time there should be a 
crossover point where RISC, parallel pro- 
cessing or 32-bit will become state of the 
art volume products 

“Much depends on the future cost of 
computer memory. The ST uses а 16-bit 
micro processor and to be effective it 
needs 512K of memory. To have a 32-bit 
micro you need to double or quadruple 
that. At today's memory chip costs, that 
would have a dramatic effect on its final 
price. But if semi-conductor supply meets 
demand and prices come down, people will 
get more power for their money. 
Bob Gleadow 


Sector 3. 8-bit – Dead or alive? 


“The Spectrum and 64 are quite 
respectable games machines, even after 
all this time. They're as good as the Ninten 
do or Sega and they'll still do OK once their 
prices drop down below £100. But they're 
tape based — and all tape machines will die 
by next Christmas.” 

Jeff Minter 


"Look at the 64, There's a machine that 
Could've been dead two or three years 


"People have finally become aware and 
accept that the chief use of computers in 
the home is to play games. The hope to 
program has now gone: hence the rise of 
consoles. 

"Come the mid-19905 there will be a new 
super-duper all singing, all dancing console 
linked with CDI so that you can have real 
life videos. | also suspect that there'll be an 
increasing range of related peripherals, 
such as high definition TV screens and a 
mirroring of the arcades - tilt, swivel and 
more that will take you closer to a more 


[ҮЛ 


last year's thing. They ve still got main- 
frames in place that people have been 
using since the 60s! 

"PCs will also be eroded by the splintering 
of the market — that if people want say 
DTP, they'll choose the Mac; for music, the 
ST; and for graphics the Amiga. In any 
case in the future, the PC sector will not be 
as homogeneous. It'll actually break in half 
with the cheap DOS machines at the bot- 
tom. The top will split a further four ways: 
SuperDOS - the DeskView, Windows 386 
area; 05/2 - simply because IBM and 
Microsoft are behind it, it'll make some 
impact (even though it shouldn't); Unix — 
because it clearly has a lot of advantages; 
and then the next level of Macintoshes. 

‘At the lower end, the PC200 is mediocre 
at best and the CGA graphics are just 


Victory for either Commodore or Atari is 
both unlikely and unimportant. The compe- 
tition between them matters more. Both 
will do better and more interesting things 
with their machines. If one wins, it'll be a 
disaster. Just look at how boring the educa: 
tion market became once the BBC took 
over. 

‘And it doesn't matter as much as people 
think that the ST and Amiga haven't done 
well in the States. In the old days the 
States used to account for 80 per cent of 
the computer market. Now it's less than 
half and declining, The days when if you 
didn't make it in the States it was а matter 
of great concern have gone for good 

"As for Amstrad, | wouldn't be in the least 
bit surprised if they produce the definitive 
68000 based machine which given 15 min- 
utes and a fair wind could run both ST and 
Amiga software.” 

Jack Schofield 


If only Archie were cheaper, it could really 












ago. But we expect to sell 120,00 this 
year in the UK alone. That just shows you 
Bit is going to continue for some time 
because the software base is already 
there. 

Steve Franklin, Commodore UK boss 


The 8-bit machines have been caught 
badly between games machines which are 
becoming more powerful and the 16-bit 
machines which offer you business stan 


Sector 4. Consoles: Primed for explosion? 


complete entertainment experience. 
Nick Alexander 


"There's been talk of consoles becoming 
predominant for some time but nothing's 
happened. | think people want a home com- 
puter as a concept. People say look at the 
US but they have more spending power 
than us. Father has his Apple and the kids 
have a console. But that won't happen in 
the UK." 

Steve Franklin 





| NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS + 12 NOVEMBER 1988 

















UTURE? 





appalling for games. To the argument ‘It 
тау be rubbish but look at all the soft- 
ware’, | have to say 1. It is rubbish 2. No, 
there aren't so many games and 3. If you 
stand it side by side with an Amiga or ST, 
you'd have to be a real idiot to buy the PC 
200. The machine flies in the face of my 
thesis of nichemanship — that people are 
now using different computers for very dif- 
ferent tasks, rather than using one machine 
for everything.” 

Jack Schofield, Computer Guardian 
editor 


"We've had more than enough technologi- 
cal innovation. Even so, it will continue in 
the same vein. PCs will be sold cheap, bun- 
dled with cheap take it or leave it software. 
Off the shelves Tescos stuff — you only 


score. A cut-down version at £250-300 - 
but no, we're talking about Acorn.” 
Jeff Minter 


"The attitude now is very much concentrat- 
ed on graphics and images and visuals and 
less on gameplay. | would imagine that 
people will be more interested in having 
fun. For now though the market is plagued 
by plagiarism. Once someone has a good 
idea then it gets copied. 

"Computer games are very boring when 
viewed from the outside. They're very dry 
when compared with Top of the Pops. It 
still has some of the spotty kid in his bed- 
room about it. I think in the next four years 
it will become more socially acceptable - 
probably through more powerful machines. 

“But people simply haven't exploited 16- 
bit machines at all. There is a preponder- 
ance of 8-bit conversions and the only 
advancements have been Starglider 2 and 
Elite |Вгаһеп 5 game] which is simplistic. 
Games like Carrier Command could easily 


dard facilities. They'll be squeezed next 
year. The Spectrum has traditionally out- 
sold the 64 here and it will be supported 
longer.” 

Bob Gleadow 


"Тһе Spectrum hasn't changed that much 
but its audience has grown younger. When 






have to look at the States to see what will 
happen here. 

"Тһе most progress will be with laser 
printers. Everyone will have one and the 
dot matrix brigade will quietly disappear. 
The communications side will inevitably 
come up. But people still haven't digested 
the systems and software that they have 
now.” 

William Poel, business market pundit 


"PCs are mutating into Macintoshes." 
Jeff Minter, cult programmer. 


"Next year 80286 will be the volume seller. 
In two years, 80386 will be the volume sell- 
er. Don't forget that MS-DOS already has 
five years of power upgrades.” 

Bob Gleadow, Atari UK boss 


it first came out there were quite serious 
people who were convinced that they could 
run their payroll packages on it: it wasn't 
just a games machine. Now | reckon it 
appeals to the 8-11 year old band, with the 
64 reaching the 11-15 year olds. But 
though the 64 is a more sophisticated 
machine, it has never gone anywhere. It's 
still the same machine as it ever was.” 
Jack Schofield 


“There are 32 million consoles worldwide 
and I wouldn't like to guess how many 
there will be in five years. People are going 
to have dedicated machines for dedicated 
tasks and they're not going to use the key- 
board computer for everything just to justi- 
fy the investment. They will use computers 
for legitimate computing purposes and 
consoles for gaming.” 

Mike Wensmann, Nintendo UK direc- 
tor 


have been written in 8-bit. 

“The turning point will come when the 
quality of software isn't dictated by hard- 
ware restrictions but by creativity. Then it 
will be fun.” 

David Braben, state of the art pro- 
grammer. 


"One mistake that is often made about 16- 
bit is that it is viewed as new. Yes the 
Spectrum and 64 are six years old, but the 
ST and Amiga have been around for two, 
maybe three years already. 

"By the 9065 we'll be talking about Trans- 
puters and 32:54 games, which will be 
highly challenging for the software produc- 
ers. Currently we seem to spend at least 
half our time trying to condense down 
what's been written into what's available. If 
there's a larger memory size then it won't 
in itself mean that our costs will have to 
expand enormously to provide the software 
to run on it. 

"In any case it's much better to use only 


"Мете not seeing any dramatic drop off, 
but rather а long slow decline with а 
greater proportion of budget title sales. | 
don't think there are any real indications of 
the Spectrum or the 64 now appealing to å 
younger market. Possibly that will change 
in 18 months time if and when Amstrad 
brings out a £39 version of the Spectrum.” 
Nick Alexander 


“The problem faced by Konix (reported to 
be entering the console market) is that 
British programmers are not as good as 
the Japanese. If Konix get that right then | 
know they'll do really well because they ve 
got a tasty machine. Nintendo will come 
through when they actually get round to 
releasing their vast library of software. But 
the one to watch out for is the PC Engine. 
It's absolutely outrageously good and at 
£100 it should wipe the floor. 

"Consoles are a good entry level for 
some people. But there are enough who'd 









"РС games are definitely а goer, but not 
necessarily via the PC 200. It's in a very 
cluttered market and essentially the games 
impetus comes not from kids but from 
businessmen. That makes it a much older, 
much different market. It also means that 
the PC won't become the dominant games 
medium over here." 

Nick Alexander, 

Virgin/Mastertronic boss 


half the power of a Transputer and produce 
something at a price that everybody can 
afford, than a fully technology-driven prod- 
uct that no one can buy.” 

Nick Alexander 


“I'd be very surprised if there aren't up to 
three quarters of a million Amigas in the 
UK by 1992. We expect to sell 90,000 this 
year. People are becoming more attracted 
to 16-bit machines and they're being used 
by young people who've never had a com- 
puter before. They appeal to a whole spec- 
trum of age groups as well as the young 
not only because they're sexy machines 
with good graphics,” 

Steve Franklin 













@ Alexander: A long, slow decline. 


CaS eee ee ee 


just be bored shirtless who'll want to get 
‘on and do something with their machines.” 
Jeff Minter 


“There are more and more kinds of 
machines for more and more niches. That 
doesn't mean that something like consoles 
are going to take over or replace home 
micros, but rather that the market will 
become increasingly diverse.” Jack 
Schofield 





12 NOVEMBER 1988 • NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS + 


COVER FEATURE INE 














Е-19 STEALTH FIGHTER will turn your PC into the 
hottest machine on today’s electronic battlefront. 
The graphics are that vivid ... the animation that 
smooth . . . and the feeling of flight that convincing. 
But F-19 is no joy ride. Dramatic game play 
challenges you with a lifetime of action. Fight your 
way through hundreds of missions packed into the 
real-world regions of Libya, the Persian Gulf, the 
North Cape and Central Europe. 


Combat will dazzle you as never before. Steer 
modular glide bombs with your joystick and follow 
them all the way to impact. In heart-stopping 
dogfights, use TrakCam to lock onto enemy MiGs. 
Engage TactiVue for an outside perspective that 
always keeps you and your target in sight. 

Plus, learn the secrets of stealth flying — 
maintaining a low electromagnetic profile to evade 
enemy radar and mastering the tactics that only a 
stealth pilot dares to try. 


SOFTWARE 


P52/TANDY/Compatibles, Supports VGA 
MCGA. EGA. CGA and Hercules graphics. 





MICROPROSE, 2 MARKET PLACE, TETBURY, GLOUCESTERSHIRE СІВ 8DA. TEL: (0666) 54326. TLX: 43422 MPS/UKG. - 











EEE PREVIEW БЕНЕН 








Commodore's 
Christmas Extravaganza 


RIK HAYNES previews the 


12th official Commodore Show 





The Commodore Show is back at its favourite venue later this 
month, boasting over 75 exhibitors and an exciting batch of new 
hardware and software. Coming just 30 shopping days before Christ- 
mas, it looks like an ideal opportunity to trawl for bargain presents. 
If only the organisers would supply visitors with a Computer Show 
Recovery Pack - consisting of foot plasters, jostler's elbow soothing 
cream, aspirin (large bottle) and a four-ton truck to transport home 
all the leaflets, carrier bags and brochures collected during the day. 





ng the show to launch several 
new Amiga games: Turbo-Trax (motor-racing 
simulation), Fright Night - The Arcade Game 
(based on the horror movie) and International 
Soccer (no prizes for guessing). Microdeal will 
also have ide range of older Amiga titles 
(and latest addition to its repertoire: computer 
available for Visitors to the 
Microdeal stand will also have the opportunity to 
talk to Steve Bak, programmer of many popular 
Amiga games such as Goldrunner, Leathernecks 
and Return To Genesis, now working 
Microdeal's Fright Night game. Stand 2 


Commodore will parade its obligatory proces- Mierodeal is 
sion of famous stars (Adam Faith and Anita Dob 
son from the latest West End musical Budgie 
among others) as well as its range of computer 
product. As usual, pride of place will be given to 
the Amiga, with a Graphics Workshop and Music 
Room (complete with industry experts) displaying 
the Amiga's audio-visual capabilities. Another 
new feature will be the Xmas Card Design Com 
petition (using Amigas), with a daily prize award 
ed to the best entry. Stand 44 

















its 






accessories) sale. 












on 
Product 
h Com: 


The Independent Commodore 
Users Group (ICPUG), in conjunction 


















modore, is celebrating ICPUG's tenth anniversary Hisoft is due to launch its new Ba compiler for 
by presenting a series of seminars. Topics cov- the Amiga which fully supports the Amiga's 
ered include: MIDI For Beginners, How То Get library routines and works within the Amiga's 
The Best Out Of A Database and Programming In multi-tasking environment. Hisoft will also ha 










COMAL. ICPUG will also host regular question 
and answer sessions on visitors queries across 
the entire Commodore range. Stand 102 


ac П (full review 
sion of Ив popul: 
Amiga. As ап add! 





in this issue), the new ve 
ssembler package for th 
i bonus Hisoft will be offerir 











| 20th, 10am-6pm (4pm Sun) 


older versions of Devpac at 'very special prices 
according to Hisoft's managing director David 
Link. Stand 68 


Anco has a new selection of Amiga software on 
sale at the show: Micro Text and Micro Base 
(both reviewed in this issue), Robbeary (platform 
game) and Maniax (based on the classic arcade 
game Qix). Maniax on the C64 should also be 
available. Stand 156 








Precision Software is presenting Superbase 
Personal П, the latest development to its range of 
Amiga database software (enhancements to its 
predecessor include built-in text editor and com 
munications software). Precision is also launching 
three new Amiga products: Superplan (spread. 
sheet with Superbase-compatible data files), Pro 
fessional Animation Sequence Editor (animates 
IFF-compatible picture files) and Charon 5 (game 
mixing strategy and shoot'em-up). Stand 34 














The UK Amiga User Group will provide visi 
tors with technical help and advice and will be 
offering special show discounts to prospective 
members. Stand 87 





Trilogic will be selling its new Amiga sound 
sampler to the public for the first time. The apr 
priately named Amiga Audio Digitiser is sold w 
> necessary lead to connect to musical equip: 
it doesnt come with any software. This 
deficiency can be forgiven bearing in mind the 
very competitive £24.99 price tag (with an extra 
£2.98 needed for A1000 users). Fortunately AAD 
is compatible with many existing 
(and public-domain) music software such 
Aegis Audiomaster, Eidersoft Prosound and Datel 
Prosampler. Stand 157 





h 









commercial 





as 


HB Marketing is presenting two new Amiga 
products, the much-acclaimed ComicSetter (novel 
DTP package) and Design 3D (CAD program) 
Stand 57 





Sensible Software — à programming team mak 
ing its show debut — will launch a new C64 soccer 
game published by Microprose. Also for sale ('at 
ludicrously cheap prices") will be Sensible's older 
C64 hits such as Wizball, Parallax (both published 
by Ocean) and The Shoot'em-up Construction Kit 
(published by Outlaw). The weird and wacky trio 
at Sensible (Chris Yates, John Hare and Martin 
Galway) will also be introducing a new feature to 
the show - very, very loud music — provided by a 
myriad of sound equipment. Stand 120 









Arnor will be launching the Amiga version of its 
popular word-processor, Protext. "The PC version 
has been taking the market by storm" said Arnors 
sales manager, Douglas Thompson, “ће Amiga 
version has been under development for over two 
years now and we believe it to be the best Amiga 
word-processor available’. Stand 132 





WHERE 

The Novotel (Champagne Suite and 
tion Centre), Hammersmith, London W6 
WHEN 

Friday, November 18 - Sunday, November 





HOW MUCH 

£5 adults, £3.50 under-16s. 

TRAVEL 

Nearest underground is Hammersmith (Pic: 
cadilly, Metropolitan and District Lines) 
ORGANISER 

Database Exhibitions (Tel 0625 878888) 

















IOVEMBER 1988 • NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS 














LONDON’S LARGEST MAIL ORDER DEALER 


NEW LOW PRICES 


Mono CGA EGA опо CGA EGA 

IBM/PC/XT’S COMPATIBLE Retail Retail Retail Mame o 
Akhter PC1000 single drive 497 N/A 789 (New) Amstrad PC2286 20Mb hard disk 
Akhter PC1500 dual drive 599 N/A 865 14" monitor N/A N/A у 
Akhter PC3000 dual 720K drives 620 М/А 875 AMT 286/10 Mhz 30Mb hard disk 1440 N/A 
Akhter PC2000 20Mb hard disk 839 М/А 1105 AMT 286/20 Mhz 40Mb hard disk 1761 М/А 
Amstrad РС1512 single drive 370 500 М/А Barbatan 286/10 Mhz dual drive 1052 1217 
Amstrad PC1512 dual drive 499 639 М/А Barbatan 286/10 Mhz 20Mb hard disk 1239 1424 
Amstrad РС1512 20Mb hard disk 643 750 М/А Barbatan 286/10 Mhz 40Mb hard disk 1415 1590 
Amstrad PC1512 30Mb hard disk 699 799 М/А Barbatan 286/16 Mhz 20Mb hard disk 1515 1690 
Amstrad РС1640 single drive 499 650 750 Barbatan 286/16 Mhz 40Mb hard disk 1657 1806 
Amstrad РС1640 dual drive 550 699 810 Commodore 286/10 Mhz single drive 1319 1410 
Amstrad PC1640 20Mb hard disk 720 850 950 Commodore 286/10 Mhz 40Mb hard disk 2032 2166 
Amstrad PC1640 30Mb hard disk 750 879 999 Opus РС5 286/10 Mhz 30Mb hard disk 1295 N/A 
(New) Amstrad PC2086 SD 12” monitor 554 714 804 ‘Packard Bell 286/10 Mhz single drive 1100 1240 
(New) Amstrad PC2086 DD 12” monitor 699 860 960 “Packard Bell 286/10 Mhz 20Mb hard disk 1234 1317 
(New) Amstrad РС2086 20Mb hard disk 12” "Packard Bell 286/10 Mhz 40Mb hard disk 1420 1550 

monitor 950 1099 1150 "ЅВС AT 286/10 Mhz single drive 900 1050 
(New) Amstrad РС2086 SD, 14” monitor N/A N/A 900 *SBC AT 286/10 Mhz dual drive 999 1150 
(New) Amstrad PC2086 DD 14” monitor N/A М/А 1050 *SBC PC 286/10 Mhz 20Mb hard disk 4250 1400 
(New) Amstrad PC2086 20Mb HD 14" monitorN/A М/А 1290 “SBC AT 286/10 Mhz 40Mb hard disk 1450 1649 
AMT 88/10 Mhz single drive 536 N/A 811 "ВС AT 286/10 Mhz 1.2Mb floppy + 720K (гіме 1436 1620 
AMT 88/10 Mhz 30Mb hard disk 961 М/А 1225 “SBC AT 286/12 Mhz. As above with 20Mb 
Barbatan PC dual drive 605 770 920 hard disk 1800 1900 
Barbatan PC 20Mb hard disk 839 984 1134 *5вс AT 286/12 Mhz. As above with 40Mb 
Barbatan PC 40Mb hard disk 960 1110 1260 hard disk 1866 2046 
Commodore PC1 single drive 302 N/A 404 Walters AT 286/10 Mhz single drive 976 1153 
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Commodore PC10 dual drive 649 799 949 Walters AT 286/10 Mhz 20Mb hard disk 1393 1610 


Commodore PC20 20Mb hard disk 949 1099 1245 Walters AT 286/10 Mhz 40Mb hard disk 1600 1807 
Hyundai Super 16 single drive 568 667 760 


Hyundai Super 16 dual drive 670 774 852 
Hyundai Super 16 30Mb hard disk 910 1009 1092 
Opus PC3 dual drive 488 НА am 
Opus PC3 30Mb hard disk 
Opis PC4 20Mb hard disk N/A N/A 980 ІВМ PC/AT 80386 COMPATIBLE 
"Packard Bell VX88 single drive 540 600 850 Akhter 386/20 Mhz 40Mb hard disk 2846 | 
*Packard Bell VX88 20Mb hard disk 745 830 1100 (New) Amstrad PC2386 20 Mhz 65Mb hard disk 
*SBC PC single dual 533 788 12" monitor 2599 Р 
“SBC PC dual drive 600 850 (New) Amstrad PC2386 20Mhz 65 Mb hard disk 
“5ВС РС 30MB hard disk 869 1139 14” monitor N/A 
Walters PC single drive 530 934 AMT 386/32 Mhz 40Mb hard disk 3296 
Walters PC dual drive 629 1024 Barbatan 386/20 Mhz 40Mb hard disk 2625 
Walters PC 20Mb hard disk 849 1244 Barbatan 386/24 Mhz 40Mb hard disk 3049 
Commodore 386/16 Mhz 40Mb hard disk 3529 
Commodore 386/16 Mhz 80Mb hard disk 4499 
*SBC 386/16 Mhz dual drive 2496 
"SBC 386/16 Mhz 20Mb hard disk 2896 
IBM PC/AT 80286 COMPATIBLE “SBC 386/16 Mhz 40Mb hard disk 2900 
Akhter 286/10 Mhz 20Mb hard disk 1265 1548 1740 Walters 386/16 Mhz single drive 2192 
Akhter 286/12 Mhz 40Mb hard disk 1684 1929 2103 Walters 386/16 Mhz dual drive 2342 
(New) Amstrad PC2286 12 Mhz dual drive Walters 386/16 Mhz 20Mb hard disk 2705 
12” monitor 950 1099 Walters 386/16 Mhz 40Mb hard disk 2861 
(New) Amstrad PC2286 12 Mhz 20Mb hard disk Walters 386/20 Mhz single drive 2900 
12” monitor 1299 1400 1500 Walters 386/20 Mhz dual drive 3067 
(New) Amstrad PC2286 dual drive Walters 386/20 Mhz 20Mb hard disk 3400 
14” monitor N/A М/А 1299 Walters 386/20 Mhz 40Mb hard disk 3597 





*SBC + Packard Bell - Prices include 12 months on site maintenance contract 





NEW LOW PRICES ON COMPUTERS 














































MODEL RETAIL RETAIL RETAIL НАВО DISKS 
PC/XT's SEAGATE 5 1/4" HALF HEIGHT 
PC1512 SD 370.00 500.00 N/A 20MB ST 225 + WDGEN XT CONTROLLER. 65MS 215.00 
PC1512 DD 499.00 639.00 N/A 30MB ST 238R + WD27X RLL CONTROLLER 245.00 
PC1512 HD20 650.00 750.00 N/A FOR XT 65MS 
PC1512 HD30 699.00 79900 N/A 40MB ST251 + WDWX1 XT CONTROLLER. 40MS 310.00 
PC1640 SD 499.00 650.00 750.00 40MB ST251-1 + WDWX1 XT CONTROLLER. 28MS 395.00 
PC1640 DD 550.00 699.00 810.00 62MB ST277R + WDWX1 XT CONTROLLER. 40MS 385.00 
PC1640 HD20 720.00 850.00 950.00 
PC1640 HD30 750.00 879.00 999.00 SEAGATE 5 1/4" FULL HEIGHT 
BARBATAN PC DD 675.00 797.00 979.00 
BARBATON PC20 899.00 104920 123120 80MB 574096 + WDWX1 XT CONTROLLER. 28MS 575.00 
BARBATON РС40 1050.00 120000 138200 122MB ST 41448 + WD27X RLL XT CONTR. 25MS 755.00 
SBC DFS SD 460.00 М/А 800.00 
SBC FD DD 550.00 750.00 899.00 MINISCRIBE 5 1/4” HALF HEIGHT 
SBC HD20 900.00 1050.00 1,149.50 
AMT PC 30 HD 99900 МА 1305.30 40MB 3650 + WDWX1 XT CONTROLLER. 65MS 310.00 
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"Beat This" prices are fully inclusive of membership and UK postage and packing. 


ST or AMIGA ST or AMIGA Pack 4 ВЕ Раск 5 ВЕТ Раск 6 ШҮ 


Chrono Quest 29.95 Dfndr of the Crown29.99 
Jewels of Darkness 19.95 Menace 19.95 Lancelot 19.95 Chrono Quest 29.95 Captain Blood 24.95 
Mortville Manor 24.95 Fed of Free Traders29.95 Jewels of Darkness 19.95 — Dfndr of the Crown 29.99 Golden Path 24.95 


Special Reserve 4.00 Special Reserve 4.00 SpeciaReserve 4.00 Special Reserve 4.00 SpecialReserve 4.00 


Total 78.85 [Beat This |  Total83.89 [Boar This | Total 43.90 [Bear This | Total 63.94 Total 53.90 
41. к х 
Раск 7 (ШҰ) Over Раск 8 ШЕ) 
Rocket Ranger 29.99 | Раск 23 ЗИТ Black Lamp 19.95 


Dfndr of the Crown 29.99 О, Menace 19.95 
Зра Reserve 4.00 GAMESTAR SPECIAL 70 Yo off Special Reserve 4.00 


Total 63.98 Championship Baseball 24.99 Total 43.90 
GBA Championship Basketball 2499 ВЧу a pack for 
GFL Championship Football 24.99 Christmas 


Раск 9 ДЕ (атепсап вооа Pack 10 ДЕ 
Starglider 2 24.95 EM Pack 24 MES Sargon 3 Chess 24.95 
Star Wars 19.95 Beat This Total 78.97 Silicon Dreams 19.95 
Special Reserve 4.00 22 99 INFOCOM SPECIAL Special Reserve 4.00 
is | Total 48.90 E Sherlock 24.99 Total 48.90 
Lurking Horror 24.99 
Bureaucracy 24.99 





Pack 11 ШЕ j Special Reserve 4.00 Раск 12 WS 


E ACCEPT 
Starglider 2 24.95 - Dungeon Master 24.95 
Starglider 24.95 EXPRESS Beat This [Total 78.97 D.M. Solution Book ' 6.99 


Special Reserve 4.00 VOUCHERS 22 99 Special Reserve 4,00 
Total 53.90 È Total 35.94 


Pack 13 ШЕН Ш Раск 14 ШЕ Ш Раск 15 ШЕШ Ш Раск 16 ШЕШ F Pack 17 EG 


Fish! 24.95 Sargon 3 Chess 24.95 Trivial Pursuit 19.95 Hostages 24.95 Infocom Solid Gold 24.99 
Silicon Dreams 19.95 е Sentinel 19.95 New Trivial Pursuit 19.95 Отаг of the Crown 29.99 Hollywood Hijinx 29.99 


Special Reserve 4.00 Special Reserve 4.00 Special Reserve 4.00 Special Reserve 4.00 Special Reserve 4.00 
Total 48.90 Total 48.90 Total 43.90 Total 58.94 Total 58.98 


Раск 18 (EWG Pack 19 EG Раск 20 EG Раск 21 EG Pack 22 EG 


Sargon 3 Chess 24.95 Universal Mil Sim 24.95 Elite 24.95 — Football Manager 2 19.95 Lancelot 19.95 
Trivial Pursuit 24.95 Tracker 24.95 Starglider 24.95 GFL Champ F/ball 24.99 Knight Orc 19.95 


leserve 4.00 Special Reserve 4.00 Special Reserve 4.00 Special Reserve 4.00 Special Reserve 4.00 


Total 53.90 Total 53.90 Total 53.90 Total 48.94 Total 43.90 
4 А 21.95 


АП packs include membership to Special Reserve, that's our amazing club, it normally costs £4.00 to 
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mds 








n 





mm APPLICATION REVIEWS БЕНЕН 








Devpac 2 


Assembler/Debugger System 

Amiga 6 £59.95dk 

Also on ST 6 £59.95dk 

Hisoft € The Old School, Greenfield, 
Bedford MK45 5DE. Tel: (0525) 718181 


Amiga owners now have the chance to sample 
the new version of this assembler — already high- 
ly regarded by ST users — from the market leader 
in home computer assembly language packages. 
Devpac2 is a 68000 assembly language develop- 
ment system for the Commodore Amiga which 
comprises macro-assembler, text editor, debug- 
ger, linker and operating system "include" files 
The package consists of two disks containing the 
necessary programs and а 157-page manual. 


User Interface 

Devpac2 allows you to write, run and debug 
machine code programs. This process can basical- 
ly be divided into four stages: source code edit 
ing, program assembling, program execution and 
program debugging. With its predecessor these 
stages were loaded into memory separately — 
wasting valuable development time - but now 
these tools are memory resident, saving time con- 
siderably. 





Is it for you? 


This is how we think different levels of 
user will react to the program. 


@ Beginner 

Devpac2 is not designed to be a tutorial to 
assembly language programming, so if you have 
по previous programming knowledge, learning 
68000 language may prove too daunting a task 
- especially with the Amiga's audio-visual pro- 
cessors to cope with as well. Perhaps you should 
start by learning to program a high-level lan- 
guage such as Amiga Basic. 

€ Intermediate 

Devpac2 provides the perfect upgrade to users 
of Amiga Basic, 'C' or other Amiga assemblers. 
In fact users of 'C' will be able to link and debug 
their old programs using BLink and Monam - 
thus enjoying the best of both worlds. 

@ Advanced 

Devpac2 is the only real choice for the 
advanced assembler programmer and even 
includes a pocket guide to the 68000 instruction 
set for quick reference. All the include files are 
available, and the improved features of Monam 
really help at the crucial debugging stage. 


The editor, assembler and debugger are easily 
mastered, extremely efficient and support а wide 
range of options 


Features 
What made the original version of Devpac 50 suc 
cessful were its excellent text editor, fast macro 


assembler and useful range of debugging tools. 
These features have been improved in four main 
ways 

* Editor, assembler 
and debugger are 
now fully integrated. 
* Uses ARP (Amiga- 


HIGHLIGHTS 


Integrated fullscreen text edi- 
tor, macro assembler and multi- 


DOS Replacement | window debugger. å 
Project) File | € Optional stand-alone version of 
Requester. the assembler. 


* Maximum assem- 
bly time has doubled 
to 75,000 lines per 
minute (average time 
being 35,000 lines 
per minute). 

* Numerous changes 
to the debugger such 
as improved user 
interface, multi-win- 
dow display апа 
stand-alone or assembler-resident operation. 


DRAWBACKS 


space. 


Documentation 

The manual covers everything from making а 
backup of the disks to giving advice on the best 
Amiga technical books, and takes you through 
the package's features in а steady and easy to 
understand way. For advanced users there are 
various reference sections - presenting technical 
information in а clear and concise way. 


Verdict 
An almost essential purchase for the serious 
intermediate to advanced assembly language pro 
grammer. 


9090999 





Replay 4 


Atari ST @ £79.95dk 
Microdeal 6 Box 68, St Austell, Corn- 
wall, PL25 4YB (0726 68020) 


There seems no end to the list of sound samplers 
currently available for the ST. Nor, indeed, to the 
list of forthcoming samplers. While Replay isn't 
new, the 4 is. The 4 referring to the software ver- 


So what's improved? 


The new package has a wide range of improve- 
ments: MIDI facilities allow up to 10 samples 
individually assigned to different MIDI keys, real- 
time pitch shift (bend) and much better effects 
(echo, reverb and so on) control. 

The Replay 4 package also includes the Drum- 
beat sample sequencing software. This lets you 
store 16 samples in memory and replay them 
three at a time (three-channel polyphonic). Up to 
99 drum patterns can be stored in memory at 
once along with 70 song entries. 

And are the major additions to the Replay digi- 
tising software: 
© Maximum sampling rate 5OkHz 
@ Adjustable sample-input triggering 
€ Low-pass software filtering (low frequencies 
pass unhindered while higher frequencies are 
chopped) on samples held in memory 
© Real-time oscilloscope to monitor incoming 
sound 
© Real-time spectrum analyser 
© Ten samples can be held in memory 
© Selectable waveform display 








Desk File eq Output Displa 


et for input, the 
other for output 





| 








MAGNIFY 4040 RESET 40408 |^ 


Sampling rates are 
fixed — 5, 7.5, 10, 15, 
20, 30, 40 and 
50kHz. АП frequen 
cies, except the 
highest two, can be 
replayed through 
the computer's mon: 
itor. You'll need to 
hook Replay to an 
amp and speakers if 





SAMPLE MI | LISTEN БЕРІЛУ LOOP 5С0РЕ | REDRAW 


TRIGGER о 1 © you want to hear the 


highest ^ playback 





BLOCKS. copy INSERT | | DELETE Mj | CLEAR MM | FILTER 


MIDI сн |<] 1l ^M frequencies. 





REVERSE Bj | OVERLAY MI | FADE IN FADE OUT | SPECTRUM 


Editing facilities 


MIOI 81 MIDI 82 
include reverse, fade 

















PRESET Mf 18 f 26 SL зы ғ? 


sion 

Replay 4 grabs sounds from powered sources 
(that's amplified noises from CD, record, tape and 
so on) and converts what it 
hears to digital equivalents. 
Digital sounds are stored in 
the computers memory as 
numbers. Because numbers 
are what the computer under- 


HIGHLIGHTS 


© Sampling up to SOkHz 
 Low-pass filtering possible tures 10 


43 із fio PITCH in/out, merge, filter 


copy, cut and paste 


Documentation 

Contents page, properly defined sections and 
even an index - a luxury 
indeed. Many hardware 
peripherals offer little more 
than a photocopied sheet. 
The only thing missing is pic- 
accompany the 


© Memory resident assembly, pro- 
gram execution and debugging. 


@ Manual lacks index and glos- 


sary. 
© Single-drive users may find the 
include files take up too much disk 





stands best, almost any oper- 
ation can be performed on 
these values 


© Drumbeat and MIDI software а bonus 
€ Good provision for incorporating 
sounds into your own program 


explanatory text. 


Verdict 


User interface 

Functions are selected by 
clicking on pretty icons or by 
clicking on items in drop 
down menus. It's a vast 
improvement over the old ver- 
sion; much easier to use and 
more logical. The manual is almost unnecessary. 


Range of features 
Two phono sockets exist on the Replay board 
which slots into the ST's cartridge port. One sock- 


DRAWBACKS 

@ Manual could do with pictures to 
back-up text 
€ Sample rates are preset 

© No audio monitoring facility 





There's excellent provision for 
programmers wishing to 
incorporate samples into their 
programs, with source files in 
assembler and examples in all 
major versions of BASIC 

A complete sampling and 
MIDI outfit rolled into one. 
Good value compared to simi- 
lar offerings. The software works efficiently and 
only lacks compression and audio monitoring 
facilities. 


0000 








12 NOVEMBER 1988 • NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS + 





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THE BEST REASON FOR BUYING AN ATARI 
MAIL ORDER POOLS-SYSTEM !! (TM) TRADE WELCOME 


EXPRESS 
VOUCHERS INCORPORATING - POOLSBUSTER & POOLSPLANNER VOUCHERS 





OTHERS CALL THEIR POOLS PROGRAMS ULTIMATE, WE CALL OURS "THE" POOLS PROGRAM. 

There were and still are a couple of pools programs for the Atari ST that guarantee to you performance better than chance (?) or promise to you power? to forecast the pools the way you want. 

Others are asking you for disk for free demos while weeks are going by and you are missing your chance for a dividend. Nevertheless pools-system still remains the only one in the market that 

delivers the goods. Lets have a look at some facts. Fact user friendly and still the only one that does not require you to be some kind of a football expert or hot shot system analyser. Fact pools 
systems is the only one that performed even slightly during the difficult & unpredictable Australian season. Fact 13/8/88. 4 aways out of the recommended first 6. 10 homes out of the recommended 
first 15. 20/8/88 Start of the English season, the system trapped 9 out of the 14 score draws & all 4 no score draws. 27/8/88 9 out of the 12 score draws 8 3 out of 6 no score draws, 4 homes out of 
the recommended first 6. 3/9/88, 6 homes out of the recommended first 7, 4 aways out of the recommended 6. 5 out of the 7 score draws & 2 out of the 3 по score draws. 40 correct results out of the 
58 possible. Fact, all forecasted printouts available at any time for any checks. So do not waste your time with any other programs or systems. They are not going to entertain your hopes or wishes. 
‘And to top all the facts, we guarantee the Pools-System performs better than any other pools program in the market on any computer, because we guarantee to you that using the Poolsbuster in 

cooperation with Poolsplanner you are going to win the pools more than once a year. 





STOP PRESS!! What does the customer say: “I was very impressed with the general standard of the progams & their ease of use. | had a look around the program & worked out how to input the data 
without the use of the manual which shows just how good the program structure is set out, To get to the point, the very first entry | did came up Irumps with 2 lines of 21 1/2 points. It brought me a win 
of £11.88. Not bad lor a frst attempt. Thanks for an amazing program. Regards Р.Д. Бой. (Name & Address with hela for obvious reasons. 





























ST To SCART Cable £12.00 
Pools-System £40.00 Scribble (Brown Waugh)-Amiga 85.00 Atari SLM804 Laser Printer +SLMC804 £1129.99 
Hi-Soft Basic Atari. £69.00 Organize (Brown Waugh)-Amiga £85.00 Epson NLX800 DOT Matrix 9 Pin Print £277.50 
Power Basic Atari £46.00 BBS-PC! (Brown Waugh)-Amiga. £85.00 Star LC10-Mono/DOT Matrix 9 Pin £240.00 
APL68000 Atari £86.25 Publisher 1000 (Brown Waugh)-Amiga £160.00 Star LC10-Colour/DOT Matrix! 9 Pin £260.00 
Fast ST Basic (Rom) Atari £76.68 Music Studio (Activision)-Amiga. £29.00 Star LC24-10/24 Pin-Multifont £387.55 
Fast ST Basic (Disk)-Atari £38.27 Lattice C (Metacomco)-Amiga £99.00 Star Laser Printer 8 (IMB Standard) £1740.89 + VAT 
Run Time Disk (Fast Basic)-Atain £10.64 Lattice C Prof (Metacomco)-Amiga £230.00 Eider Soft Graphic Tablet - Atari/Amiga .. £239.03 + УАТ 
Back Раск (Rom)-Atari £44.85 Studio Magic- Amiga 850.00 Amiga 500 + Starter Kit £318.00 + VAT 
Lisp (Metacomco)-Atari /Amiga £143.75 Pro Sound Designer (Complete)-Amiga. £65.00 As Above + Modulator £336.00 + VAT 
Pascal(Metacomco)-Atar/Amiga £83.95 Pro Sound(Software only Amiga £27.00 Amiga 500+1084Colour Mon+Starter £548.30 + VAT 
Expert Systems(Infogrms)-Atari £75.90 Pro Sound Designer with Midi Amiga £76.00 Amiga 500 Business Pack (A500 + Mono 
Forth MT(Abacus)-Atari £42.55 Pro Midi (Midi Sampler for PSD)-Amiga £27.00 Monitor «Printer + The Works+ Transformer. 
FTL Modula 2 (Hi-Soft)-Atari £62.10 Pro Sound Тоо! Kit-Amiga £27.00 Mono Text ІВМ-РС EMUL) £559.23+ VAT 
FTL Editor Toolkit -Atari £39.97 ‘Amiga 500 as above but with A1084 colour 
GFA Basic Interpreter-Atari £40.25 monitor instead of the Mono Monitor £674.00 + VAT 
GFA Basic Compiler-Atari £40.25 Amiga Modulator A520 £23.50 
Lattices (Motacomoop-Atari £89.70 Atari 520 STFM (new) 1MB Drive with FREE £400 8501 БХР Bota VÅR ОЮК £110.00 
Devpac ST-V2.00-Atari/Amiga £49.45 Worth of Software (plus Compusiop 1 Starter КІ. Amiga 1084 Colour Monitor £245.21 + VAT 
Logistix (Grafox)-Atari £95.45 6349.00. Atari 520 STFM as above plus Pools- Amiga 2000 £976.50 + VAT 
Masterplan (Ditek)-Atari £69.00 System -£359.00 Amiga 2000 -1084 Colour Mon £1151.75 + VAT 
VIP Professional Gem-Atari £110.40 Amiga 20MB Hard DRive for 2000 £620.00 
Superbase Professional-Atari £190.23 Micron 2MB Mem.Expansion -A2000 £370.42 « VAT 
Superbase Personal-Atari/Amiga £77.29 Atari 1040STFM(New)+Compushot 1 Starter ...£449.00 Micron 2 MB Mem.Expansion 
Fleet Street Publisher-Atari £98.51 Atari 1040STFM as above + Pools-System ..... £459.00 А500/А1000 £391.72« VAT 
Signum (Signa)-Atari £160.00 Atari 104 STFM + Mono Mon. £533.00 Pro RAM2000 (8MB RAM) Unpopulated . £198.00 +VAT 
1st Word Plus (GST)-Atari £65.00 Atari 1040STFM + Mono + PLSTM £549.00 Flicker Fixer £281.50 «VAT 
Wordwriter (Timeworks)-Atari £65.00 Atari Mega ST2 + Compushot 1 Starter £775.00 Genlock A5000/A2000- (A8802) £212,60 +VAT 
ST Doctor (Computer Concepts) £16.00 Mega ST? as above + Pools-System £785.00 Proff. Genlock А500/А20000-(А8806) .....£605.00 + VAT 
Disk Doctor (Antic)-Atari £22.92 Mega ST2 + Mono + Starter £865.00 Perfect Vision (Real Time VID Digit) /.... 2151.13 + УАТ 
Prosound Designer-Atari £52.97 Mega ST2 + Mono + Starter + Pools-System .. £875.00 A1010 1MB 2nd Drive (All Amigas) £117.94 + VAT 
Pro Midi (Sampler Player)-Atari £15.00 Mega ST4 (4MB RAM ) + Starter £1050.00 Midi Interface (Standard Serial) -Amiga £25.00 
Pro Sound with Midi-Atari £61.23 Mega ST4 + Starter + Pools-System £1070.00 Philips CM8833 Stero Со! Mon, £239.10 + VAT 
Quantum Paint (Eidersoft)-Atari £19.47 Mega ST4 + Mono + Starter 8114000 Philips CM8852 High Res Col Mon £269.20 + VAT 
Quantum Paint Proff, (+Toolkit) £27.28 Меда 574 as above + PLSSTM £1150.00 Amiga 1900M Mono Monitor £84.10 + МАТ 
ST Omnires (Sof. Colour/Mono Switch ) £33.48 Mega ST2 + Mono + Laser Printer + Monitor Station (Tit & Swivel) for ай 
Turbo ST (Software Blitter) Atari £33.48 Fleet St Publisher « 1st Word « Starter £1999.00 Ла тоа £18.95 
PC-Ditto-Atari (IBM EMUL.) £60.98 Mega ST2 as above + PLSSTM 2009.00 Monitor Master (Best in the market for any Атап — 
Flash-Bak & Flash-Cache (High Speed Hard Disk Mega ST4 + Mono + Laser Printer +Fleet St 57,520,1040 Mega STs-Colour/Mono Switch Box.£30.00 
Utilities) For the Atari ST £28.43 Publisher Ist Word«20MB Hard Disk+Starter .£2698.00 Mouse Master (Unique Mouse & Joystick 
Saved! (The Desk Accessory)-Atari £24.20 Mega 574 as above + PLSSTM 6271000 Switch, Allows connection of 2 Joysticks & 
Hi-Soft WERCS. (Wimp Environment Resource Triangle 1MB 2nd Drive-Atari £95.00 а Mouse or any other Controller with any 
Construction Set. Easy to use and powerful RCS. Triangle Dble 3.5" Drive-only for the Atari STs combination that you'll require. No unplugging 
Works in any resolution. Intuitive environment and STMs-not for the STFMs £179.00 cables. The best Mouse/Joystick Port Contrilier) 
8 complete facilities) 24.20 Triangle 2.5" Drive 40/80 Track Atari £130.00 AtarvAmiga £21.00 
TWIST The best software switcher. Up to 14 programs Triangle 5.25" with PC Ditto Atari £199.00 Mouse Path (The best Mouse Mat around 
resident at the same time-Atari £24.20 Triangle IBM 2nd Drive Amiga £85.00 Special anti-static & unique surface for 
STAC . The best adventure creating program Triangle Internal A2000 31/2" Kit £79.00 a better grip & short distance travel. Perfect 
for the Atari. Creating your own adventures Cumana IMB 2nd Drive Atari £112.90 for any Mouse on any Computer) £5.50 
for fun ог sale £29.08 Cumana IMB2nd Drive-Amiga £125.00 Monitor Stands ( Very elegant and specially made 
Acquisition-Amiga £183.90 Атап 20MB Hard Disk Drive (SH205) £548.00 to fit any Atari ог any Amiga computer) £24.00 
Digi Paint (PAL)-Amiga £34.91 Triangle 20MB Hard Disk Drive-Atari £435.00 Unistand Printer Stand £9.50 
Digi View V 3.0 (Inc Adapter) - Amiga £136.00 Triangle 40MB Hard Drive-Atari £603.18 PVC Dust Cover - Mega STs £750 
Digi Droid-Amiga. £56.50 Supra 20MB Hard Drive £502.57 PVC Dust Cover - 520STFM, 1040STFM £4.00 
Photon Paint-Amiga £53.50 Supra 30MB Hard Drive. £633.40 PVC Dust Cover -5С1223, SM125 £5.00 
Express Paint V.2,0-Amiga £46.30 Miracle WS2000 MODEM (Atari-Amiga) £115.00 Disk Boxes; 40 * 35° Disks, £8,95 
Face 11 Amiga £19.00 Miracle WS4000 MODEM (Atari-Amiga) £169.00 Disk Boxes: 80 * 3.5" Disks £10.95 
F-Basic -Amiga £55.50 Linnet MODEM (Atari-Amiga) £140.00 Disk Boxes: 100 " 3.5" Disks £12.95 
X CAD Amiga £333.50 Series Four 2123S MODEM (Atari-Amiga) .......£260.00 Disk Boxes: 120 * 3.5: Disk £13.95 
Pro Write V.2.0 - Amiga £65.00 Nightingale MODEM (Amiga) Man. Dia £110.00 Disk Boxes: 50” 5.25" Disks £8.95 
Kind Words-Amiga £39.50 RS232 MODEM Cable (Atari-Amiga) ©1200 Disk Boxes: 120: 5.25" Disks £13.95 
Analyze! V.2.0 (Brown Waugh) Amiga £107.75 Printer Cable (Amiga/ST) £12.00 





New Atari РСЗ IBM-PC compatible with switchable clock speed-4.77 MHZ or 8МН2 8088 Micro Processor. ЕСА CGA«Hercules Graphics Modes. Built in Twin Drive. 640KRAM. MS DOS 3.2 
Operating System, Optional 8087 Maths Co-Processor Socket. Detachable XT Style Keyboard. Includes Parallel 8 RS232 Serial Ports. 256K Screen RAM . Supplied with Mouse Mono Screen 
Resolution of 720"350. Colour Screen Res. 640"350. Palette of 64 Colours. 16 can be displayed at the same time. Works with any CGA. MDA.EGA or Multi Frequency Monitor. Comes with FREE 
Software 8 FREE Manual. R.R.P. = £647.49. Our price is only £580.00 inclusive! Atari РСЗ as above + EGA Mono Monitor R.R.P.= £747.49. Our price is only £670.00 inclusive!!! Atari РСЗ + EGA 

Mono Monitor + 30 MB Hard Disk R.R.P. = £10.92.49. Our price is only £819.99 + VAT!!! All prices are inclusive of VAT & Delivery unless otherwise stated. 
Access Prices inclusive of VAT & deliver unless otherwise stated. These are only some examples, for more information call : COMPUSHOP 1 ОМ: —01-738-8400 
ғ ~ If you do not see it, it does not mean we do not have it. Please call us and you will not regret it. 
P 


Prices are always fluctuating up or down. Call for the latest information and for availability. Май Order Only. Speedy Delivery. No Hidden Extras 


STOP PRESS. Look 3 1/2" Disc(DSDD): 10 for £11.00. 20 for £21.00. 40 for £40.00, and 50 for £47.50. For the best prices for all Atan-Amiga Hardware (Computers, Peripherals and 
Accessories call: Compushop 1 at 01-736.8400. (Маке Chas/P.O.s payable to Apolonia Software) and send to: 
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APOLONIA SOFTWARE -THE COMPANY THAT CARES 


BARCLAYCARD 














7 


PC GRAPHICS 


SPECIAL FEATURE БЕНЕН | 











WHY won't this 
ЛЮ program run? 


he earliest personal computers, 
from the ZX81 onwards, used the 
easiest possible method of generat- 
ing а screen display: а simple 
video chip driving а domestic TV set. For 
many years that set-up was sufficient. 

However, as users demanded increased 
resolution, а greater range of colours and 
better image definition, display adaptors 
became more complex and the TV set 
became inadequate. Today's systems, typi- 
fied by the Atari ST and Commodore 
Amiga, generate high-resolution, multi- 
colour graphics requiring dedicated video 
monitors to display the resulting images. 

But from the user's point of view, even 
these systems are fairly simple to use: you 
simply buy the appropriate monitor for your 
machine. For users of IBM PCs and compat- 
ibles, however, things aren't that simple. 

When IBM launched the PC in 1981, the 
basic system had no display adaptor at all, 
although two plug-in video cards were 
available as ‘optional’ extras: the Mono Dis- 
play Adaptor (MDA), and the Color Graph- 
ics Adaptor (CGA). As the name suggests, 
the former displayed a monochrome pic- 
ture, but it was also a text-only adaptor. 
The ССА was IBM's first attempt at meet- 
ing demand for graphics and colour. 

However, these features were achieved 
only at the expense of text displays, and 
CGA is far from ideal for text-based appli- 
cations. This led to a third attempt, the 
Enhanced Graphics Adaptor (EGA). 

With the introduction of last year's PS/2 
systems, IBM moved on. The low-level 
models in the range, the Models 25 and 30, 
use a system called the Multi-Color Graph- 
ics Array (MCGA), while the 'true' PS/2 
machines use the new standard, the Video 
Graphics Array (VGA). 

The MDA, CGA and EGA adaptors are all 


The three most lieet standards ————— 


© ССА - those famous four colours 





available as plug-in cards, and with gen- 
uine IBM PCs you must buy one before the 
system is usable. However, most clone 
manufacturers equip their machines with 
one or more adaptors as standard, and with 
the PS/2 machines IBM now builds the dis- 
play adaptors into the basic hardware. 

The picture is further complicated by dis- 
play adaptors from third-party manufactur- 
ers. Many of these have dedicated applica- 
lions in computer-aided design and desk- 
top publishing, for example, but some, like 
the adaptors from Hercules, have become 





TECH SPECS 


PC Display Standards: the breakdown 


Because it uses a graphics 
standard that's incompatible 
with your PC. There are more 
than SIX such standards, so 
it's no wonder PC users tear 
their hair out. To ease the 
pain PETER WORLOCK, him- 
self still surprisingly hairy, 
gives you this complete guide. 





























alternatives to IBM's standards. 

The end-result of this confusion means 
good news, and bad, for PC owners. The 
good news is that, unlike Amiga owners, 
for example, youre not stuck with one 
graphics system. If you need more resolu- 
tion, or more colours, you can simplybuy a 
more powerful plug-in-and-go adaptor. 

The bad news is that not all software is 
compatible with all adaptors, and that as 
the adaptors become more powerful, you 
need to buy more powerful and more 
expensive, monitors. 





Hercules 





Text modes 1 





Graphic modes 





Text colours 2 





Graphic colours 


5 
5 
3 
кә [es || 





Palette size 


263,000 





Мах resolution 


SUITABILITY FOR APPLICATIONS 


640x200 | 640x 350 | 640x480 | 720x348 





Word-processing 





Business ^ 





Games 





DTP 





CAD 


RANGE OF SOFTWARE AVAILABLE 





Word-processing 








Games 





DTP. 





CAD 





























Ф EGA - that's more like it. 16 colours on-screen 





(© VGA - the ultimate colour graphics -some 300,000 pixels! 











12 NOVEMBER 1988 • NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS + em 


| МЕШИНИ SPECIAL FEATURE es 


| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 








= 











MDA: Mono Display Adaptor 

The MDA is the simplest display adaptor 
and so limited that it is virtually unavail- 
able today. Producing 80 x 25 character text 
displays in two colours, it does provide 
highly readable text but no graphics. 


CGA: Colour Graphics Adaptor 
The CGA represents a minimal improve- 
ment. It's 80 x 25 text display can use 16 
pre-set colours, but the smaller character 
matrix results in a loss of definition that 
makes text displays very tiring on the eyes 
over long periods. Definitely not recom- 
mended for word processing or spread- 
sheet work. 

The CGA provides two graphics modes. A 
640 x 200 display in black & white only, and 
a 320 x 200 mode with four colours. Unfor- 
tunately, colour selection is limited to a 
choice between two colour palettes 
green/red/brown/one other, or white/light 
blue/purple/one other. In each case, the 
‘other’ colour can be one of the 16 text- 
mode shades. 


EGA: Enhanced Graphics Adaptor 
With the EGA, IBM got it right. To start 
with, the EGA can emulate both MDA and 
CGA adaptors, so software written for 
those will run perfectly. But it also does 
things neither of its predecessors can do. 
Resolution is 640 x 350, and it can display 
16 colours from a palette of 64, even in its 
highest-resolution graphics mode. 

This means that text displays are highly 
readable, but quality graphic images can 
also be generated. 


MCGA: Multi-col. Graphics Array 
The adaptor used in the PS/2 Models 25 
and 30 is a logical development of its pre- 
decessors. Resolution has again been 
stepped up, to 640 x 480 pixels, and much 
more powerful colour facilities are provid- 
ed. The MCGA uses analog RGB to display 
up to 256 colours at once, from a total 
palette of 262,144 shades, which puts even 
the Amiga in the shadows. 


VGA: Video Graphics Array 
Essentially, MCGA is a sub-set of the VGA 
standard which in turn is a sort of 
‘enhanced EGA’ so that many programs 
written for EGA will run unmodified on a 
VGA system. However, the VGA offers 
many extra modes, including 720 x 400 text 
modes, 640 x 480 graphics modes, and the 
same colour system as the MCGA. 

A range of VGA adaptors are now avail- 
able which means that even a humble £500 
PC clone is capable of producing very high 
quality displays unrivalled by any other 
machine (with the exception of a £10,000 
Macintosh II), provided it is equipped with 
the right monitor. 


Hercules 

Manufacturer Hercules came up with its 
own solution to the problems set by the 
MDA. The Hercules card is а mono adaptor 
capable of producing high-quality text dis- 
plays and high resolution graphics. For 
many applications, the lack of colour is not 
a problem, so the Hercules card has 


become а popular alternative to IBM's own 
display adaptors. That popularity in turn 
has meant that many software publishers 
have supported the Hercules card, estab- 
lishing it as а standard in its own right. 

Further developments include the HGC+, 
which provides for customised fonts - 
quicker and more economical on RAM than 
graphics-generated fonts; the Hercules 
Color Card which is effectively a CGA card; 
and the Hercules InColor Card which is an 
EGA version of the mono card. 


Others 

Several third-party manufacturers offer 
graphics adaptors that exceed even VGA in 
screen resolution and available colours. For 
example, card maker Genoa has a SuperV- 


GA card with resolution up to 1024 x 768 in 
16 colours, and 800 x 600 in 256 colours. 

Often, these super graphics cards have 
such unusual displays that manufacturers 
bundle them with special monitors. NEC, 
for example, has the MonoGraph system, 
featuring 1024 x 1024 graphics, bundled 
with a paper-white monitor specifically for 
desktop publishing applications. 

The problem with these systems is soft- 
ware compatibility. Generally, the manufac- 
turer will have to convince software pub- 
lishers to include support for these odd 
graphics modes, and few publishers are 
willing. Therefore, you must check that the 
software you regularly use will be compati- 
ble with your would-be graphics system @ 





When you buy a PC, you should 
make sure you get the display 
mode most suitable for your 
needs. Most manufacturers 
(Amstrad has been a key 
exception - see below) allow 
you to 'mix and match’. 

For example, if you buy a low- 
cost PC clone you could ask 


How to get kitted out 


your dealer to fit it either with a 
CGA card costing £50-100 
(many such cards now also 
include Hercules and MDA 
thrown in), or with an EGA card 
(which may again include less 
Powerful standards) for £80- 
150. 

You could even opt for a VGA 


card at £200-250, although 
there is little point in putting 
such sophisticated graphics 
into a £500 PC - it would lack 
the processing power to run 
VGA at an acceptable speed. 

If you are kitted out with more 
than one graphics standard, 
you can use MS-DOS to switch 
between them, although you will 
need to have a suitable monitor 
connected for the one you are 
running. 








The main price to be paid for the 
PC's graphics flexibility is the com- 
plication of finding the correct mon- 
itor, 

At the simplest level, you can 
connect all display adaptors to a 
monochrome monitor. Although 
there is obviously no question of 
colour display, systems like the 
CGA, EGA and VGA cards will oper- 
ate in mono mode, substituting up 
to 64 shades of grey for the usual 
colour shades: 

Ascending the scale of graphics 
power also takes you up the price 
scale. The cheapest PC colour 


monitor problem 


monitors are CGA-compatible sys- 
tems - digital RGB monitors capa- 
ble of displaying 16 colours. 
Although these monitors are colour- 
compatible with EGA, the higher 
vertical resolution of the EGA cards 
mean CGA monitors don't work. 

Dedicated EGA monitors are also 
digital RGB, but have a higher scan- 
ning frequency to get the extra 
lines onto the screen. 

The introduction of the VGA stan- 
dard brought a matching develop- 
ment in monitor technology: the 
multisync monitor. These models 
have much higher frequencies 


capable of displaying the very high 
resolutions of the VGA modes, and 
are also analog RGB types, neces- 
sary for the large range of colours 
supported. 

But if these monitors displayed 
only the VGA modes, they would be 
unusable with the earlier CGA and 
EGA adaptors. Therefore they need 
to be able to change scanning fre- 
quency according to the graphics 
mode in use. Unfortunately, these 
advanced features don't come 
cheap. 

As a rule of thumb, monitor 
Prices rise in £100 units: a mono 
monitor might cost £100, a CGA 
unit £200, an EGA unit £300, and 
upwards of £400-for a multisync 
model. 











There is a broader issue of soft- 
ware compatibility with all video 
adaptors. Clearly, software writ- 
ten for a powerful adaptor will 
not work on a simpler system. 
More frustrating is the reverse, 
software that will not run on 
тоге powerful systems even in 


Software Compatibility 


its original, graphically crude, 
form. 

Although there is a large 
overlap, e.g. between VGA and 
EGA, in most respects adaptors 
differ from each other in crucial 
ways. Screen memory can be in 
different locations, so that any 


program that alters video RAM 
is unlikely to work on other 
adaptors. This is common with 
games software. 

There are particular problems 
with Hercules mono graphics 
adaptors. Although the vast 
majority of applications - such 
as word processors, spread- 
sheets and databases - will run 
happily on Hercules systems, 
again few games will. 








Owners of the older Amstrad PCs 
(1512 and 1640) have а peculiar 
set of problems when it comes to 
graphics adaptors. At the root of 
many of these difficulties is 
Amstrad's decision to put the sys- 
tem power supply in the monitor — 
a practice it has thankfully stopped 
in its new PC2000 range. Although 
the PC1512 supports both mono 





Where Amstrad got it wrong 


and CGA displays, you can't simply 
Swap your mono monitor for a CGA 
unit without also buying a standard 
PC power supply for your system 
unit. 

Things are further complicated by 
the fact that Amstrad hard-wired 
the video circuitry to the main 
motherboard, which means that 
you're stuck with the graphics stan- 


dards supplied with your machine. 
The only way 1512 owners, for 
example, can move up to EGA is to 
sell their entire system and buy an 
EGA-equipped PC. 

Although Amstrad did provide its 
own 16-colour mode, ostensibly 
meeting some of the demand for 
EGA, it is completely non-standard 
and therefore precious little soft- 
ware takes advantage of it 
Amstrad itself recognised the prob- 
lem and no longer supports this 16- 
colour mode. 








EE 











* NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS + 12 NOVEMBER 1988 








TIMES HAVE . 
CHANGED... 


But the problems 
havent 


There was a time when all you needed to create the right impression 
was а good typewriter. Times have changed since Jim got his Home 
Portable, but the problems are still the same. From multi-national 
companies to the local squash club, everyone wants their printed 
material to be the best. 





Until now Jim wouldn't have had much choice. He could do the 
job himself on his trusty Home Portable - or his word processor - 
or put the work out to а design studio and have it typeset. And 
he'd pay the price - with low quality or high costs. 
Now there's a new choice. One that gives you the quality you'd 
expect from a studio, at a price less than some people might pay 
for а word processor! Timeworks Desktop Publisher turns your PC and 
printer into an instant electronic print shop. 


What's even better is the unique blend of publishing 
power, versatility, and ease of understanding that 
Timeworks Desktop Publisher gives you. And there’s 
a Guided Tour tutorial to get you 
up and running in under an hour! 
No need for sophisticated hard- 
ware either. Timeworks Desktop 
Publisher works equally well on a 
512k twin floppy PC with a 9-pin 
matrix printer, or the latest 386 
PC or PS/2 driving a Postscript 
laser printer. So you don't need 
to throw your software away when 
you upgrade your 

system. 


€ Easy to use pull-down menus and on-line help. 

© Choice of page sizes and layouts, with selectable column guides, 

plus on-screen rulers to show you exactly where you are. 

Wide variety of built-in fonts, sizes and sty 

© Top quality printout on matrix or laser printers. 

© Built-in text editor with Search & Replace. 

€ Import text from leading word processors including Ist Word 
Plus, WordStar, Word Perfect and Microsoft Word, plus 
ASCII files. 

© Import picture files - line art or bit image - from GEM 
applications like Draw, Paint, or Scan, plus PC Paintbrush, 
Lotus 123, and others. 

© Automatic text reflow during edits and layout changes. 

9 Typesetting functions include kerning and leading. 

aragraph tags allow you to repeat styles easily. 

© Style sheets for standard page layouts. 

© Left and right hand master pages. 

© Automatic hyphenation. 

© Bulletted paragraphs. 



















FONTS, SIZES & STYLES 
ұлыды ышы ын) 


36р! Swiss roman 


















Jim would have 
loved Timeworks 
Desktop Pub- 
lisher. Isn't it 
just what you’ve 
been waiting 
for? 


“То my mind its ease of operation and flexibility probably make this the most 
powerful DTP package around”. 

Claire Mainwaring, Amstrad Professional Computing, September 1988 
“The software supports all the major features offered by Ventura, plus a few 
more . . . Timeworks DTP seems to represent remarkable 


value for money”. Desktop Publishing, March 1988 








22,0 1 


PUBLISHER 





NCE 


Е 
== 





Please send me further information on the Timeworks Desktop Publisher. 
Timeworks Desktop Publisher includes the GEM*/3 Desktop. NAME 
Timeworks Desktop Publisher is a trademark of Timeworks, ADDRESS 








Inc. and GST Software Products Ltd. GEM 3 is a registered 
trademark of Digital Research Ltd. All other manufacturers’ 
trademarks or registered trademarks are acknowledged. 


POST CODE 


Electric Distribution, 8 Green Street. Willingham, Cambridge, CB4 51А. 
Telephone: 0954 61258 Telex: 81113 (PMPROF G) Fax: 0954 80318. 








ENTERTAINMENT 


REVIEW 








М elcome to the New Computer Express games section, the liveliest, most up-to-the-minute reviews pages for miles. 
You'll notice that our reviews are laid out differently from run-of-the-mill computer mags. We: 


@ use a simple, no-holds barred, no-fuss star rating system, where only the very best games get the coveted five-star rating. 
© break up reviews into easily-digested sections relating to scenario, gameplay, graphics etc. - no more hunting through great wodges of text to find out what you 


want to know. 


© take version differences seriously. You'll always know what machine the game's being reviewed on, but we'll give you information about other versions too. 
give games of particular merit their very own box, together with a flash to say what's so good about them. 


944 TURBO CUP 


LORICIEL 


ST + £19.99/22.99dk 
Also on Amiga, CPC 
Versions planned for PC, Spec, C64 








@ It's turbo time as you push that Porsche on course 


Coming firmly back to Earth after the hover- 
ing hi-jinks of Space Racer, Loriciels' 944 sets 
out to simulate top French racing driver Rene 
Metge's skills at the wheel of his 250 b.h.p. 
Porsche Turbo. 

As Monsieur Metge is the man who rescued Mark 
Thatcher from the Sahara, you might well expect 
this game to feature plenty of brainless driving. But 
you'd be wrong. 
€ GAMEPLAY 
You can choose between four circuits of varying dif- 
ficulty after qualifying for your start position from a 
practice lap where you're the only car on the 
course. Then you're up there with the pros and 
pushing that joystick for all it's worth to steer your 
way to first place within the two laps that constitute 
each race. Control is pretty responsive and can 
either be effected by keyboard or one or two joy- 
sticks. 

Two joysticks ? Yes, one for acceleration, braking 
and steering - the other for gear changes - but 
don't despair if you don't have two, gear changing 
will be automatic. 

Gunning your way round practice laps is fine - 
after a little practice the Porsche settles down to 
your grip — but it's in the racing that things get a lit- 
tle hairy. The other drivers weave all over the place 
and it's all too easy to collide and difficult to over- 
take. To make matters worse, you seem to be the 
only driver who's car is vulnerable - all other vehi- 
cles career on without a dint in sight! Take a bend 
too fast and you spin out of control, hit one of the 
immortals and you lose valuable time while your car 
miraculously regenerates trackside. 

@ GRAPHICS AND SOUND 

944 comes on two discs, the first containing a load 
up screen and some of the best digitised music 
you're likely to hear on an ST - Captain Blood's 


intro included. Then it's down to the purring of the 
Porsche as you punish it around the scrolling cir- 
cuits. Your view of the action is from over and 
behind the car you're driving rather than the more 
usual cockpit viewpoint. But despite feeling as 
though you're manning a helicopter camera, you 
soon get the feel of the wheel. All cars are solid 
chunky sprites set on backgrounds featuring grand- 
stands, signs and arrows beside two and threeJane 
roads. 

@ OTHER VERSIONS 

The ST, Amiga and PC versions will come with an 
optional model Porsche, hints and tips from Rene 
Metge on each of the courses and tech-specs on 
the Porsche for an extra £4. If you want these on 
the &bits you'll have to send off for them. It's too 
early to say what the other versions will be like yet 
but it's a fair bet that the Amiga one will take pole 
Position by employing stereo FX. 

@ EXPRESS VERDICT 

Frame update ain't spectacularly fast and control is 
a little finnicky but neither really detract from an 
above average speedo-sim. Half a dozen more cir- 
cuits and a bunch of drivers who hit the tarmac 
from time to time would improve it no end. 944 
scores high in the Road Wars when up against the 
likes of Out Run but it's a close race against the 
realism of cockpitview sims. 


ооо 


TOMAHAW 


ALIN ATION 


PCW 9512, £19.95dk 
Also on PCW 8256/8512, CPC, C64, Spec 


| Detailed instrument panel and fast-moving 3D graphics make this а 
graphic treat on the PCW 


Tomahawk is rather long in the tooth for 
review now, but for the fact that the PCW ver- 
sion is now 9512 compatible. 

@ VERSION UPDATE 

The PCW version of Tomahawk is reckoned by 
many to be the best of those available, and 
although it's now a couple of years old, it's still an 
excellent game - particularly on a machine where 











new games releases are few and far between. 

The game is a helicopter combat/flight sim based 
on the U.S. Army AH-64 Apache Advanced Attack 
Helicopter. Four missions are available, ranging 
from simple flying training through combat to strate- 
gic domination of the whole map area. 

In addition to this, four difficulty levels can be 
selected, not to mention a range of different flying 
conditions - day/night, clear/overcast, height of 
cloudbase, crosswinds and turbulence. The last 
option is recommended for the experienced pilot 
only. 

Tomahawk is about as accurate a helicopter simu- 
lation as the hardware permits, so don't expect to 
be able to sit down and fly your Apache like а veter- 
an within the first five minutes - or five days, for 
that matter. 

Those four missions give you а great deal to do, 
and with the various difficulty levels and flying condi- 
tions available it'll take а long, long time to burn this 
game out. Unless you've got absolutely no patience 
with instruction books, the message for PCW own- 
ers is simple. Buy it. 


0000 


Rod Lawton 








GUERILLA WAR 


IMAGINE 


Spectrum • £8.95cs, £9.95dk 
Also on C64, CPC 
Out soon on ST, Amiga 


их 100000 


7 


© Indifferent graphics on the Spectrum version - can you spot the bad 
guys? 





Imagine's latest offering is a conversion of the 
Shin Nihon Kikaku Corp. (SNK) arcade coin-op 
Guerrilla War, which is a multi-level, vertically 
scrolling shoot'em-up іп the Commando/Ikari 
Warriors mould. 

@ GAMEPLAY 

You take the role of a marine assigned to rescue 
some helpless inhabitants of a tropical island taken 
hostage by an evil dictator (and his minions) known 
only as The Tyrant. 





ee NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS * 12 NOVEMBER 1988 





ENTERTAINMENT 


REVIEW 








Armed only with a machine gun and grenades, it's 
your duty to kill on sight any enemy forces that try 
to stop you. On your mission through swamps, 
rivers, and ruined towns you'll not only encounter 
‘grunts’ (foot soldiers to me or you) but also tanks, 
emplacements and devious traps. Fortunately, 
armament improvements can be found along the 
way, such as bazookas, flamethrowers and the ulti- 
mate toy — your very own tank, 

Each of the five levels contains a different style of 
enemy attack pattern and end-oflevel guardian - 
who is tougher than your average mercenary, 
requiring approximately 32 shots to kill. 

At the end of the fifth level, you'll fight The Tyrant 
within the splendour of his grand palace 
© GRAPHICS AND SOUND 
The individual sprite and background definitions are 
good, but are let down by their merging together 
during play - making it hard to see your marine іп 
the heat of the action. The vertical scrolling is com- 
petent rather than exceptional. 

Guerrilla War is accompanied by a funky little 
soundtrack on the title screen with functional sound- 
effects during play. 

@ OTHER VERSIONS 

The C64 and CPC versions should be available as 
you read this, with the ST and Amiga versions fol- 
lowing shortly afterwards. No other details are cur 
rently available. 

€ EXPRESS VERDICT 

Guerrilla War replicates its arcade parent quite 
Closely in the audio-visual departments, but despite 
the simultaneous two-player option, it fails to pro- 
duce a really playable game due to the sprite-back- 
ground merging factor. 

Guerrilla War is one for fans of the arcade game 
or Commando genre only, and is definitely one to 
try before you buy. 


ооо 


Rik Haynes 


Amiga • £14.99dk 
No other versions planned 





The first of nine 16-bit games to be released 
by this German company via а tie-up with 
Microprose, Crystal Hammer is а Breakout 
clone high on style. 

How does it match up to its definitive predecessor 
- Arkanoid? - or for that matter Crack, Impact, 
Tonic Tile and Giganoid? 
€ GAMEPLAY 
Bat and ball screen games have been around for so 
long there shouldn't be anyone out there who does- 
n't know what you have to do. Crystal Hammer fea- 





% Crystal Hammer's stunning backdrops and fast animation push 
‘screen updates to the maximum 









out soon on Amiga, PC 


Over the years there have been umpteen 
car-racing games released onto a market 
that's not too choosy about the level of simu- 
lation involved. 
Recent outings along the lines of 
Roadblasters, Overlander and Fire 
and Forget have added blast-em- 
up features to the endless circuit 
driving. Release a variation that 
combines depth, skill and strategy 
and you're onto a winner. Aren't you ? 
€ GAMEPLAY 
The full Lombard RAC Rally has you driving your 
300bhp Sierra Cos- 
worth against the 
clock around all 15 
stages of the 5 legs 
comprising the 
event. But you must 
first prove your com- 
petence by playing 
all five legs in any 
order you wish and 
win at least one prize 
overall by finishing 
first, second or third 
in any one of them. 
Each of the 5 legs 
consists of 3 sepa- 
rate stages - road, 
mountain and forest 
- and on selection 


you are given dis-  €Upinto third for the long haul along the mountain edge 


plays of the route 
map, thé route type and conditions (daylight, 
night and fog), the prescribed times, the prize 
money for achieving those times and the competi- 
tion you're up against. 

Driving the Cosworth with a joystick is pretty 
straightforward; you steer by pushing left and 
right and accelerate or brake by pushing for- 
wards or backwards. Changing up or down the 
Bears is achieved by clicking on fire while moving 
the stick forward or back. 

Effective gear-changing is the key to Lombard – 
the twists and turns, hills and valleys, and variable 
visibility all combine to require some fast reflex 
action. It's all too easy to miss a bend or mis- 
judge your braking and thereby leave the road 
surface or hit a passing tree — varying damage to 
your car will result and you'll lose valuable time. 
This means youll need to keep an eye on the 
State of your engine, bodywork, suspension and 
tyres because sooner or later you'll have to enter 
the workshop for repairs. And, of course, repairs 
cost money. 

If you don't have much luck finishing anywhere, 
let alone іп the first three, you can opt to ‘appear’ 
in a TV interview where correctly answering a 
series of questions will top up your cash balance. 
€ GRAPHICS AND SOUND 
Getting to grips with the Cosworth's handling 
characteristics is made more difficult by the size 











of the windowed view of the road ahead. Only the 
top third of the screen is devoted to the route at 
hand - the remainder comprising a view of the 
cockpit interior replete with convincingly animated 
steering wheel, dials and gear changes. 

The view ahead, whilst scrolling smoothly 
enough, could perhaps have been a little larger 
but then this does have the effect of speeding up 

the action considerably and compounding 
the sense of urgency when you're bat: 
tling for a winning time. 

Each of the three terrains 
is welldepicted - the mountain 
sequences being especially worthy 

of note. A nice inclusion is in those 

stages where you're driving through fog - 

the distance you can see ahead is entirely depen- 
dent on the state of repair of your headlights. It's 











ШЕ] 


© In the workshop and time to kit out the Cosworth (again!) 

neat touches like that which add a degree of real- 
ism to Lombard and underline its attempt at 
authenticity. But sound effects are less convinc- 
ing - it's not easy to hear when you're over- 
rewing and need to change gear because differ- 
ent rpm sounds tend to be largely indistinguish- 
able. 

@ EXPRESS VERDICT 

Lombard/RAC Rally is a great attempt to convey 
the peaks and pitfalls of the world of rallying. If 
you're tired of the same old tracks and bored with 
highway hijinks, then this one's well worth a look. 
The variety of gameplay and attention to detail 
should ensure its success. 


0000 
Andy Storer 

















12 NOVEMBER 1988 + NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS + mm 


| 


TIME TO TALK 


PRINTERS or s 


+15% VAT = £149.95 +15% VAT = £199.95 


The size of а mouse but the capabilities of а 
photocopier. Just slide the scanner over text 
EXPR or graphics to copy onto your screen. 
EXPRESS Includes software for converting scanned text 
to ASCII file & graphics editing 


Type? (b/w scanning only) .... £199.95 inc. vat 


i : я Å Type 3 (16 grey scales) £299.95 inc. vat 
| : It's time to talk about quality of service. Lots of companies are (with window омен the s е ard байар ing 
advertising lots of products at excellent prices. But we believe that AFUlPaga Scanner £590.00 inc. vat 
our customers deserve more than that. We believe that you have FA en 
the right to demand an honest, in-depth appraisal of а product's Scanner. 
strengths and weaknesses before you buy. We believe you should 
get а description in terms that you can understand and perhaps an 
expert comparison with rival products. And if you decide to buy, 
you need to be assured of first-class service afterwards. Not just 
if a product is faulty, but also if you need help in installation or if 
you simply come up against a problem that stumps you. 















We ACCEPT 





EXPRESS 
VOUCHERS 


Printers to suit every pocket and every 
computer — from 9-pin to laser printers, 
‘normal or wide carriage. Free connection 
cable with every printer sold. 

The Star LC10 in mono or colour with paper- 
park and font-select buttons. 

The Citizen 120D — sold to 70% of UK 
schools. The new 180E — faster printing, font 








select, 2 year guarantee. At MGT we've got the time to talk to you. We only sell products 

Typical prices (inc. VAT) that we like and use ourselves. We understand what we sell, and 

StarLC-10 £239.95 every one of our sales team is trained to help you, whether before 

StarLC-10 £269.95 you buy or after. And even if we don't know the answer to your a 
Citizen 1200 £149.95 question, or if we don't stock the product you're looking for, we'll MGT BRAND 3.5 
Citizen 1808 АЛ £199.95 find out about it for you. DSDD DISCS 
Citizen MSP 15E (wide carriage)........£299.00 = 5 м а 
Citizen HOP 40 (24- pin) £499.00 And the time to talk can be almost any time. Our phone lines are 


Citizen Overture 110+ £1449.00 open till 7p.m. Monday to Friday in case you want to call us after 
(laser printer running at 10 pages per minute = 900 CPS work — even after that, there's ап answer-phone. Just leave a 
MITES а T message and we'll call you back. 











Ask for our detailed brochures on these and other 
printers in our range. 


It's time to talk to MGT first! 


3.5” DRIVES 


MGT Name - MGT quality, with a lifetime 
for the 1512/1640 quarantee! Sold individually or in plastic 























are supplied 
+ 15% VAT = £99.95 Suddenly everyone's wiha Simple boxes of 10 with labels 
turning from 5.25 to 3.5 instruction sheet. Ex-Vat W/Vat 
Transfer images from a video camera drives. Now MGT offers you Б All you'll need is a 1 Disc £147 £ 1.69 
or video recorder to your screen, save а neat, easy-to-install + 15% VAT = £99.95 screwdriver, and you'll 10 Discs £13.00 — £14.95 
the image as a file or print it in solution to convert your be able to use 3,5" discs 20 Discs £24.30 — £27.95 
internal Amstrad drive to a immediately. You won't even 30 Discs £33.00 £37.95 


newspaper qualily with 
16 levels of shading. fe 






3.5” version with a top quality 
Citizen mechanism. All internal 
mountings, cables and 
screws (just 6 of them) 


need to reconfigure your DOS. 
As an alternative, our 3.5" Drives 
can also be added-on to an 
existing single drive system. 












Standard Securicor 
Express nextday delivery 











d 
MGT MINISCRIBE 1 year full guarantee on all our products. 
HARDCARD Talk to us as | | Simple repairs procedure - you send, we fix! 
well about internal and No-quibble full cash refund on hardware if 
£262.82 | external drives for other you're not satisfied within 14 days! 












Compatibles, Atari, Amiga, BBC, 
QL and Spectrum. 


+ 15% VAT = £299.95 














Suitable for Amstrad 1512, 1640 or any IBM 
compatible, the MGT Hardcard gives you 32 
Megabytes of formatted storage space. Boot 
your PC without a floppy disc! Work with huge 
volumes of data without having to change 

disc. And so much speed you'll wonder how 
you ever got along without it! 








If you wish to receive specific product details or a catalogue from MGT, NS — = o 
| please fill in this coupon and send it with a large SAE to N 
| MGT DIRECT, Lakeside, Phoenix Way, Swansea Enterprise Park, 
Swansea SA7 9EH Tel: 0792 791100 Fax: 0792 791175 









Name: T E 








Å address 
å 


| TelephoneNo.:— = = 

















4. Information required on 

















REVIEW Ee 








lures 30 levels of blocks which need to be 
destroyed and 8 types of invading obstacles 
designed to make that objective a great deal more 
difficult. There are all the usual 'feature-capsules 
you must catch — giving you lasers, triple balls, 
extra lives and so on. Where Crystal Hammer dif- 
fers slightly is that some of these capsules auto- 
matically switch you to the next level while others 
destroy you. 

€ GRAPHICS AND SOUND 

Dense block arrays on super-solid backgrounds 
make Crystal Hammer an enjoyable visual feast. 
Whilst the animation of the ball is both ultra-smooth 
and, at times, incredibly fast, that of the moving 
obstacles has ап intended flicker — which 
unfortunately veers towards epileptic frequencies. 
Spot sound effects only add atmosphere to visuals 
of this quality and serve to rescue you from com- 
plete and utter mesmerisation. 

@ EXPRESS VERDICT 

If Breakout clones are your scene and as Arkanoid 
- Revenge of Doh has yet to appear on the Amiga, 
Crystal Hammer may well be worth a look. Of 
course you may have already purchased Giganoid in 
which case you probably won't bother. But if the dif- 
ference between 15 and 20 quid is a big one for 
you then Crystal Hammer's the one. Don't forget 
the Optrex! 


ооо 
Andy Storer 


CAVEMAN UGH-LYMPICS 


ELECTRONIC AR 


C64 + £14,95dk 
No other versions planned 





% What will the Anti-Sexist Software Committee say about the Mate 
Toss event? 


Caveman Ugh-Lympics takes the familiar joy- 
stick-waggling sports-sim genre and places it 
in a new scenario - prehistoric times. 
€ GAMEPLAY 
After choosing your caveman from a selection of six 
athletes — each with their own strengths and weak- 
nesses - it's time to compete in each of the await- 
ing events: Mate Toss, Clubbing, Dino Vault, 
Dinosaur Race, Firemaking and Sabretooth Tiger 
Race. 
€ GRAPHICS AND SOUND 
Ugh contains a wide variety of cartoon-style sprite 
designs. Unfortunately, their definition is blocky, 
with very few frames of animation. The backdrops 
are simple but effective. 

Soundtracks and sound effects are very rudimen- 
tary - with some soundtracks being intentionally 
awful. 





THE MARS $ 


No other versions planned 


Compared to the exotic locations of most 
fantasy role-playing games, The Mars Saga 
takes place almost on our own back 
doorstep. 

Your task, as adventurer Tom Jetland, is to learn 
what fate has befallen one of Mars' four cities, 
Proscenium, the farthest outpost on the newly- 
colonised red planet. 
€ GAMEPLAY 
You start your adventure in the Martian city of 
Primus, basically penniless, friendless and 
Clueless. You will gain experience 
points only from your travels and 
encounters with other residents — 
not the easiest of things, bearing 
in mind Mars has been colonised 
by convicts brought in to work in the 
Martian mines. It's difficult to travel far in 
the city without being 
accosted by muggers 
or hoodlums. ! 

The first phase of the 
game is largely explo- 
ration, as you move 
about the city. Your 
Position is shown in a 
window in the top right 
of the screen, on a 
map made of a grid of 
squares. These are all 
blank to start with, but 
as you move through 
the city they disappear 
two blocks- ahead of 
where you're ‘looking’ to show the layout of build- 
ings and streets. 

Top left is a window showing the view as seen 
through Tom Jetland's eyes. Below these two win- 
dows are the readouts for Tom's Might, Agility, 
Stamina and Health (as you recruit followers, their 
attributes are displayed too). At the bottom of the 
screen is a command box. 

There is actually quite a range of buildings, 
including bars, armories, hospitals, combat train- 
ing centres and many more. If you sustain injuries 
during combat it's not a bad idea to trot along to 
the hospital to get yourself fixed up, while a visit 
to an armoury could see you better prepared next 
time... 

Combat is almost a sub-game in itself, and can 
be handled either automatically by the computer 
or manually, The map screen is replaced by a 
blow-up of the combat area, and both you and 
your assailant are represented on-screen by 
small, viewed-from-above animated characters. 

To recruit followers to assist you in your quest 


Тһе combat screen - not that уои 















AGA 


you'll need to frequent the many local bars and 
eye up the customers. All mining operations have 
just been suspended (rather conveniently), so 
there are plenty of prospective allies kicking their 
heels at the moment. Once you've assembled 
your party and you're moving through the city, 
you can readily swap items from one to the other, 
and change the leader according to the hazards 
you face. 

A code wheel is supplied with the packaging, 
and you'll need this once you're ready to leave 
the city to get the correct access code. A subtle 
form of copy protection perhaps? 
© GRAPHICS AND SOUND 
Given the nature of the gameplay, the graphics 

arent the game's most important feature, 
and they are more than adequate for 
the job. The map window is rather 
basic (but that's all it needs to be 
anyway), while the action window is 
interesting only when there's some- 
thing happening. The combat screen 
is possibly the most interesting visually, 
though in the early 
stages you'll proba- 
bly be just watching 
the computer do 
work. Sound is good 
too, with a pleasant – 
if odd - musical 
accompaniment. 
@ EXPRESS VER- 
DICT 
There's only space 
here to give a 
glimpse of what the 
game s about. In fact 
Saga is the right 
name for it. There's 
so much to do and explore, with so many options 
to investigate it'll keep you going for a long, long 
time. The control method is simple and effective, 
without some of the horribly repetitive command 
sequences that mar other role-playing efforts. 
All in all, it's a good 'un. 


0000 


ER MOVE 
ORDERS 


1 get to nick much from a beggar! 


Rod Lawton 





uiii 
pee БЫ 


MIGT топ 


JETLAND 


ТІКЕ 


9 Your view as you plod the streets of Primus 








@ OTHER VERSIONS 

Ugh is only available on C64 disk at present, but a 
C64 cassette version is currently under considera- 
tion. No other versions are planned. 

@ EXPRESS VERDICT 

Ugh is a novel twist on the old sports-sim theme, 


using a very original and humorous approach. 
Short-term appeal is assured but long-term interest 
is doubtful. Ugh is probably a game for younger 
gamesters only. 


ооо 
Rik Haynes 








12 NOVEMBER 1988 NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS + 


| ENTERTAINMENT 


REVIEW 

















TURN OF 


A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far 
| away....well 1988 UK, actually - yes, that's 
right, The Force is with us again thanks to 
the guys at Domark. 

Return of the Jedi is the third in a trilogy of home 
computer conversions - of the arcade games - of 
the movies - of the books - of the ideas - of 
George Lucas's Star Wars saga. 


м 











Get this - it's 2045, the Earth is dying and 
you, your family and friends have been 
assigned the task of carrying civilisation to the 
only known planet fit for human habitation out- 
side the solar system - Genus 2. 

However, it has been agreed that only those who 
have a superior knowledge of ‘Genus Trivia’ will be 
admitted. Sound a little convoluted? You ain't heard 
nothing yet! 
€ GAMEPLAY 
You and the other players are depicted by small 
robots who blast off through a starfield on your way 
across six galaxies to join the Mensa clones on 
Genus 2. Each galaxy has a bunch of planets which 
you can select to ‘land’ оп and have a question 
asked of you on a range of subjects. 

It's largely a hitand-miss affair as to what type of 
question you'll be asked there, but there are sup- 
posed to be clues lurking in the planetary names to 
signify the subject. 

Once you've selected your planet, you are greet- 








€ GAMEPLAY 
Jedi is different to its predecessor in 
that it's not a vector-graphic game — 
images are in a psuedo-3D, diagonal- 
scrolling shoot'em-up style in a similar 
vein to the old classic Zaxxon. 

During the different stages of 
the game you control the 
various Rebel charac- 
ters in an attempt to , 
destroy the емі 
Emperor and his 
Imperial Deathstar. 


4 


Є 


First it's Leia оп 
her Speederbike, 
batting it ой 
against Imperial 
Speeders and nat- 
ural hazards оп 
the forest moon of 


. Chewbacca in an 
Imperial Scout 
Walker attacking 
the bunker pro- 
tecting the Death- 
Stars shield and 
Lando Calrissian in 
the Millennium Fal- 
con in a fight in 


ed by a bizarre alien who produces a 'question bub- 
ble' out of thin air, You then answer out loud and 
click the mouse, whereupon the correct answer is 
displayed оп “5сгееп and you're asked to confirm 
whether you answered correctly or not – you'll have 
to rely on either your playmates or your 
conscience to rule out cheating here. If 
youre wrong, play passes to the 
next player, if you're right, you go on 
to the next planet in that sytem. 
Some planets contain objects such 
as scrolls and microscopes which you 
can collect if you answer the posed ques 
tion correctly, whereupon you're miraculously trans- 
ported to another galaxy. And the next series of 


Pisa will have fallen over before this gets to No. 1 


questioning begins. Find all six objects and you're 
off to Genus 2 where you're greeted by six white- 
haired dwarfs with beards who represent different 





me 











( ST: Leia and Imperial Stormtrooper sorting the wood from the trees 


space against Imperial Tie Fighters and Star 

Destroyers. 

The final stage consists of Lando travelling 
through the inner workings of the DeathStar until 
he reaches the reactor — blasting it - and then 
doing a runner before the whole DeathStar blows. 
@ GRAPHICS AND SOUND 
Jedi's visuals bear a very close resemblance to 
their arcade parent, with very smooth animation 
and scrolling throughout. 

Audio consists of adequate sound effects with 
snatches of the many Star Wars tunes. Also includ- 
ed are digitised speech extracts from the movie, 
which can only be recommended by virtue of quan- 
tity rather than quality. 

@ OTHER VERSIONS 
The Amiga and 8bit versions of Jedi should be 
available as you read this. 
% EXPRESS VERDICT 
Jedi is a playable and easy to get into game, with 
only lasting interest doubtful - so check-it out, and 
"May the force be with you’. 
90090 

Rik Haynes 





subject questions. 

To win the game you have to answer all six ques- 
tions correctly, one after another. It's no good just 
getting 5 right — next time it's your turn you'll have 
to tackle all 6 again. 

! @ GRAPHICS AND SOUND 
Graphics are for the most part quite 
laughable - but then for Trivial Pur- 
А suits you'd hardly expect state of the 
art solid 3D multi-plane scrolling 
would you? What's there probably 
Р doesn't tax the Amiga anymore than 
updating it's internal clock. Okay, so the 
effect the authors are after is cartoon strip - and in 
terms of humour that's what they've achieved. 
Some of the questions are accompanied by short 
musical bursts sounding as though an orchestra's 
been recorded down the phone whilst others come 
with primitive graphic representations even mem- 
bers of Densa could have drawn. 
@ OTHER VERSIONS 
Available also on the ST, Spectrum, C64, and CPC, 
A New Beginning is probably better suited to the 8- 
bits where it's low-rent appearance won't be so 
apparent as on the most powerful of the bunch. 
@ EXPRESS VERDICT 
Not really worth buying unless (a) you're a terminal 
trivia addict; (b) you're under ten; (c) you want a 
good laugh; (d) a combination of all three. We just 
can't wait for the next installment - Escape from 
Genus 2? 


оо 





The Express Crew 





Be NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS • 12 NOVEMBER 1988 











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It's back! 





PETER WORLOCK documents the rebirth of a much-maligned programming language 


=== > = 





тие or false? 
@ 8K is plenty of RAM. 


| stages of coding, compiling, run- 
ning, error-checking, re-coding, 








ll Compiler vs Interpreter 


Computer languages come in two 
flavours, interpreted and com- 
piled, and each represents a 
trade-off between two factors: 
ease-of-use and speed. 

Interpreters are easy to use. 
When you run a program, the 
interpreter scans each line, makes 
sure the syntax is correct, trans- 
lates it into machine code, then 
executes the instructions. 

Because every instruction is 
checked before operation, the 
interpreter can spot any errors 
before they occur, stopping exe- 
cution and giving an appropriate 
message pin-pointing the area of 
the mistake. 

You can then correct the error, 
usually quickly and easily, before 
re-executing the program. 

The drawback to this friendly 











way of working is the lack of 
speed. Obviously, the interpreter 
has a lot of work to do, and can- 
not do it very quickly. 

Compilers overcome this speed 
limitation by translating the 
instructions into machine code 
only once, thereby allowing your 
Programs to run much, much 
faster than comparable interpret- 
ed programs. 

However, although compilers 
can spot obvious errors in your 
code - things like mis-spelled 
instructions, and missing data - 
they can't spot the more subtle 
‘logic’ errors that only occur when 
the program is running. 

This means that the actual writ- 
ing of a program for a compiled 
language can take much longer. 
You cycle repetitively through the 








Why ST owners must upgrade 


Atari ST owners are almost 
spoiled for choice when it comes 
to versions of Basic - and with 
good reason, because Atari's own 
ST Basic was a dog. Sadly lacking 
in commands that controlled the 
power of the machine, and bug- 
| ridden into the bargain, the best 
thing to be said for ST Basic was 
its price - it was free. 

Atari has remedied some of the 
| shortcomings of the original, but 
rival versions have now estab- 
lished themselves as near-stan- 
dard products and ST Basic 
remains the poorest current 
option for the would-be Basic pro- 
grammer, 

The first alternative was Сот- 
puter Concepts’ Fast Basic 
which rapidly assumed the status 
of a de facto standard among ST 
owners. It was fast, as the name 
implied, but better still was the 
fact that it provided full control of 


the GEM operating system, includ- 
ing windows, menus and the 
mouse. 

It was supplied on plugin car- 
tridge which proved to be both а 
strength and а weakness: in its 
favour, the cartridge format 
meant there was no waiting while 
the interpreter loaded from disk, 
and it also freed up more memory 
for the user's own programs. 
Against that was the fact that you 
couldn't give friends a copy of 
your programs unless they also 
had the Fast Basic cartridge. 

The next Basic on the ST scene 
was Glentop's GFA Basic. This 
was also an interpreter but ran at 
blazing speed, particularly іп 
graphics programs. The icing on 
the cake was the release of the 
GFA compiler which speeded 
things even further, but more 
importantly allowed the produc- 
tion of stand-alone code so you 


etc. In a sense, this is the real dif- 
ference between the two methods: 
compiled programs are slow to 
write but quick to execute, while 
its vice versa for interpreted 
code. 

The picture is complicated by 
two further considerations. Recent 
compiled Basics, like Turbo Basic. 
and QuickBasic on the PC, and 
HiSoft Basic on the ST, compile so 
quickly that for many programs 
they are as interactive as inter- 
preters. 

Secondly, some compilers will 
handle the code produced by your 
'standard' interpreter, so you can 
enjoy the ease-of-use of an inter- 
preter in writing your program, 
and once the code has been com- 
pletely de-bugged, you can then 
compile it, thus enjoying the best 
of both worlds. 


could give (or sell) copies of your 
programs to any ST owner. 

Naturally, GFA Basic was not 
flawless, but Glentop has upgrad- 
ed the product (version 3 is due 
very soon) and the availability of 
GFA tutorials, books and add-on 
modules such as a vector graph- 
ics package, have turned GFA 
Basic into an outstanding lan- 
guage. At least one commercial 
product - Microdeal's Slaygon - 
was written in GFA Basic. 

Third up was HiSoft with two 
products. HiSoft Basic is a 
full-blown compiler compatible 
with Microsoft's QuickBasic on the 
PC. It's fast and flexible and offers 
a number of interesting features 
such as machine-code libraries for 
graphics etc. One of its most 
exciting features is the ability to 
produce ST desktop accessories. 

HiSofts Power Basic is 
essentially a cut-down version 
lacking the libraries and a few 
other features, but also about half 
the price of its big brother. 


Ш 16 colours are all you'll need. 

Ш Tape cassettes аге an ade- 

quate form of storage. 

M Basic is the computer lan. 

guage of choice. 
Five years ago all four statements would 
have been generally accepted as true 
Today, most users consider them hopeless- 
ly false. Amiga and ST owners are begin- 
ning to recognise that even 1 megabyte of 
RAM is barely sufficient, a ‘good’ colour 
range runs into hundreds of shades, and 
cassettes are out except for games. 

But if you think Basic is dead as well, you 
are wrong. Despite the long and seemingly 
inexorable rise of rivals such as assembler, 
Pascal, C and Modula-2, Basic is back with 
a bang 


The fall... 

The drift away from Basic was driven by a 
number of factors. First, as the software 
industry developed, the arrival of more and 
more commercial products reduced the 
need for computer owners to do their own 
programming. Second, it became obvious 
that Basic programs could not match the 
speed and quality of those commercial 
packages. 

Third, as the hardware developed, Basic 
got rather left behind - a problem typified 
by the Commodore 64 which provided 
excellent sound and graphics that were dif- 
ficult or impossible to control through the 
machine's primitive and clumsy Basic. 

An adjunct to this latter problem was the 
rise in popularity of windowing software 
environments offering multiple display win 
dows, pull-down menus, and mouse-con 
trolled pointers. Once again Basic lagged 
behind the times and offered no way of 
controlling, or replicating, these popular 
features. 





--апа the rise 

However, recent developments have either 
overcome these problems, or rendered 
them less important. The first significant 
change was the move to what might be 
called 'soft systems, These machines can 
be contrasted with hard systems like the 
Spectrum, BBC Micro and Commodore 64 in 
which the operating system and Basic lan- 





12 NOVEMBER 1988 + NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS + B 





1 








= 


|m SPECIAL FEATURE BEE 





guage were built into the machine, hard- 
wired on the main circuit boards. 

Often the OS and Basic were integrated 
which made them almost impossible to 
alter, and while better Basics could be load- 
ed into memory they cut down the amount 
of usable RAM to unworkable proportions. 

By contrast, soft systems like the PC and 
the Amiga are essentially empty boxes. The 
operating systems are loaded from disk, as 
are all programming languages including 
Basic. The ST is half а soft system — the 
GEM operating system is hard-wired, but 
Basic is an external program. 
ЕЕЕ a 

"The new versions of Basic have 

been stripped down, re-designed 

and re-built to be faster and 
more flexible." 
REP RENE RR TO 

Although the manufacturers of these 
machines include a version of Basic, you are 
no longer limited to just that implementa- 
tion. If you want a better Basic, you can 
load it from disk and it sits in the machine 
instead of, rather than together with, the 
supplied version. 

This is particularly important on the PC 
and ST where the supplied Basics are very 
limited, old-fashioned implementations of 
the language. Amiga owners are more for- 
tunate in getting a top-class product. 

The second force for improvement was 
the arrival of the new machines them- 
selves. The PCs, Amigas and STs are faster, 
more powerful computers offering many 





As in so many software areas, the 
PC has the widest choice of alter- 
native Basics, but more important- 
ly it has the best from two of the 
leading names in software: Micro- 
soft and Borland. 

There's little to choose between 
ihe two. Microsoft may not 
have invented Basic, but it more 
or less established the standard. 
Microsoft Basics have appeared 
on every PC and clone ever pro- 











ET of the best on the 





duced. The excellent Basic for the 
Macintosh is a Microsoft Basic, 25 
is the Amiga's topnotch version. 
Meanwhile, Borlands Turbo 
Basic has been called the best 
version of Basic ever produced. 
Both provide а multiplewindow- 
ing editor for program writing, the 
compilers are very fast in action - 
so much so that for many pro- 
grams they have all the interactive 
feel of an interpreter - and the 


programs you write with them will 
run very quickly too. In this latter 
department Turbo Basic has а 
slight edge, so if speed is crucial 
that might be the deciding factor. 

Advanced features include true 
recursion, and interrupt-driven 
functions. Both products allow 
you to integrate machine code 
routines quite easily (although not 
ideally). Both QuickBasic and 
Turbo Basic sell for £60 (a bar- 
gain by PC software standards) 
and your only problem is likely to 
be choosing between them. 


more features in hardware than their older 
8-bit counterparts. It is therefore easier to 
write professional-looking software without 
the need to resort to assembler. Of course, 
these Basic programs cannot be as power- 
ful or as fast as similar products written in 
C or assembler, but can still be perfectly 
adequate. 

Last, but not least, are the new versions of 
Basic, still the same old language, but 
stripped down, re-designed and re-built to 
be faster and more flexible. And in some 
respects it can offer advantages over rival 
languages. 


Tailor-made and easy to learn 

For one thing, Basic still tends to be tailored 
to the target machine, so in the new ver- 
sions you're likely to find specific com- 
mands for controlling machine-specific fea- 


tures like sound, graphics, sprites, a mouse, 
and so on. Pascal, C and Modula-2 usually 
try to conform to generic standards regard- 
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This strength of Basic has always been 
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————————X SPECIAL FEATURE EEE 





ll Amiga's proble 


The Amiga is not well-served with 
alternative Basics, but then it 
doesnt have to be. Amiga 
Basic, written by Microsoft, is 
an exemplary version of the lan- 
guage - fast and powerful, it pro- 
vides lots of machine-specific 
commands, and for serious pro- 
gramming it features library rou- 
tines that give full low-level control 
of the Amiga's multitasking oper- 
ating system. 

What it lacks is the ability to pro- 
| duce stand-alone programs and 
| for that reason Amiga owners will 
| find the idea of a Basic compiler 
| appealing. Unfortunately, the cur- 
| rent options aren't that good. 

Three compilers are available, 


ty encourages sloppy programming and the 





tic options 


but each has problems. The most 
recent is F-Basic, a bizarre mix 
of the good and bad. The good 
are the powerful programming 
commands; the bad is the fact 
that it's a totally non-standard ver- 
sion of Basic, and certainly won't 
compile your existing Amiga Basic 
programs 

A better bet from the compatibil- 
ity aspect is True Basic, the 
latest implementation from Keme- 
ny and Kurtz, the originators of 
the Basic language. Powerful and 
standard, True Basic versions are 
available on the PC and Macintosh 
which makes porting software 
between these three machines as 
easy as possible. The problems 


with 


label-definitions, 


are that the compiler doesn't pro- 
duce the fastest code, and to get 
the most from the system you 
need three separate packages - 
the language, the libraries and the 
run-time module - which ups the 
price. 

Last (with good reason) is AC 
Basic from American publishers 
Absoft. AC Basic is technically the 
best of the bunch: it will handle all 
of the Amiga Basic commands so 
you can buy it with confidence 
that it will compile your existing 
programs, and it produces very 
fast code. 

The catch is the price - a dis- 
graceful £195 through official 
channels in Britain. Buy it mail 
order from the US instead: only 
$130 - less than £80 at current 
exchange rates. 


and While...Wend 








writing of unreadable code. But this has 
always been something of a red herring: it 
was always possible to write clean, stylish 
programs in Basic, just as it's still possible 
to produce garbage in C or Pascal. 


Structured and fast 

However, the new Basics have gone a long 
way towards answering such criticisms 
dispensing with line numbers and encour- 
aging structured programming with fea- 
tures such as procedures and sub-programs 


and Repeat...Until constructs that all but 
eliminate the need to use Goto and Gosub 
commands. 

Granted, Basic continues to have some 
weaknesses, although they are not as 
damning as some ‘language snobs' would 
have you believe. For example, interpreted 
Basics like that on the Amiga remain slow 
and for certain applications Basic is not a 
good choice. However, that is also true of 
its rivals - you can't write a good arcade 
game in Pascal or Modula-2, and while 


some programmers have used C for fast- 
moving games, they've been relying on the 
relative speed of the more powerful com- 
puters compared to older 8-bit machines 
As more programmers use assembler for 


faster, more exciting games, the C pro- | 


grammers will find themselves left behind. 

Where these rival, high-level languages 
score is in the moderately fast applications 
from strategy games to text editors and 
databases. But even here, compiled Basics 
REESE 

"The critics argue that Basic's 
flexibility encourages sloppy pro- 
gramming. But this has always 
been а red herring." 
sue KE eee SE 
like Borland's Turbo Basic on the PC, or 
Glentop's GFA Basic on the ST, can produce 
speeds that can exceed Pascal, and come 

close to C compilers. 

Perhaps the biggest single weakness of 
the new Basics is the difficulty of integrat- 
ing machine code routines into Basic pro 
grams. BBC Basic was the first to incorpo 
rate an in-line assembler, a stroke of genius 
that was copied by Computer Concepts in 
its Fast Basic for the ST. More such imple 
mentations would be welcome. 

In the meantime, languages remain a mat- 
ter of personal preference and of matching 
language features to program require- 
ments. But Basic is no longer the forgotten 
has-been. For many amateur programmers, 
and some professionals, Basics strengths 
continue to outweigh its weaknesses @ 


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---- 





BEGINNERS HE 








machines were simply collections of dead sili 

con - a sort of blank electronic canvas on 
which programmers could create their magic 
When these machines were switched on, they 
simply sat there and hummed to themselves 
because they were incapable of doing anything 
else until they were programmed to do so. 

Programming consisted of physically altering 
the hardware by means of switches, a laborious 
process even if the computer only had 512 bytes 
of memory (half a kilobyte). But at that time there 
were no alternatives: you couldnt use a key- 
board, because the computer had no way of inter 
preting the signals from the keyboard. 

This was obviously а severe limitation, and one 
of the first developments was to provide the com- 
puter with а better way of communicating with 
its user, by allowing instructions to be entered by 
keyboard, and allowing the computer to display 
information on a monitor. These basic functions 
had to be provided by special programs stored 
permanently in the computer in ROM memory 
chips, so that they were available at all times. 

This was the first step towards the ‘operating 
system’, Eventually, more functions were added 
to this collection of low-level procedures, making 
computers more flexible and more ‘intelligent’. 

For example, without some way of permanently 
storing your programs and the information you 
want them to work on, every time you wanted to 
use the computer you'd first have to type in the 
instructions that make up the program, then you'd 
have to type in all of the data. Only then could 
you do any work. The solution is to store both 


| п the early days of the microcomputer, the 


Here are brief definitions of some of the more common 


computing terms. 


HARDWARE: The computer itself: keyboard, monitor, 
circuitry, etc. 

SOFTWARE: Programs - i.e. lists of instructions - 
which control what a computer does, A game or word- 
processor you buy in a shop is software. 

RAM: The memory used by a computer to store pro- 
grams loaded into it from disk or tape or typed in from 
the keyboard. The contents of RAM (stands for Ran- 
dom Access Memory, but don't worry about it) disap- 
pear when power is switched off. 

ROM: Contains instructions stored permanently by 
the computer. 

BYTE: The basic measure of memory. One byte can 
store a single letter of the alphabet or number up to 
256. 1024 bytes make a kiloByte (abbreviated to 'K). 
So a 512K RAM computer has 524,288 bytes of RAM 
memory. 

CENTRAL PROCESSOR: The microchip at the heart 
of a computer (with a name like 780 or Motorola 
68000). Also known as CPU (Central Processing Unit). 
LOW-LEVEL: Describes programming instructions 
which can be operated on directly by the computer's 
central processor. 

8-BIT/16-BIT: Describes particular I types of central 
Processors according to how much information they 
сап process at once. A 16-bit processor can process 
twice as much information in a single step, giving it 
far greater power than an 8-bit. 





Express steps back into history to explain the master control at the heart of your machine. 


software and data on tape or magnetic disks, but 
how to do that? 

Of course, you could create your own sub-pro: 
gram to send information to the disk, and in the 
early days that's just what programmers had to 
do. But this has several drawbacks: it's a waste of 
time for programmers to be constantly re-invent 
ing the wheel, and if two programs use two dif. 
ferent methods of storing data, it's very difficult 








successful manufacturer was IBM. But sales of 
CP/M machines had reached such a level that 
IBM could no longer ignore the upstart and it 
decided to join їп. 

However, CP/M was designed to run on 8-bit 
computers, and IBM wanted to launch a 16-bit 
machine, Gary Kildalls company, Digital 
Research, had a suitable — but less well-known - 
version of CP/M but IBM decided to to use the 








for them to share infor- ү- 
mation. The same prob- 
lems apply to writing 
data to the screen, read: 
ing keypresses from the 
keyboard, and all the 
other basic operations 
needed for computers to 
work. 

A programmer called 
Gary Kildall was among 
the first to realise the 
benefits of a standard 
operating system, so he 
wrote one: the Control 
Program for Microcom- 
puters, or CP/M. 

The immediate benefit 








6 „one of the frst developments was to provide the computer 
With а better way of communicating with its user 


disk operating system 
from a smaller company, 
Microsoft — the product 
was MS-DOS (MicroSoft 
Disk Operating System). 
The rest, as they 
say, is history. MS-DOS is 
now the most widely 
used operating system in 
the world, and more soft: 
ware programs run under 
MS-DOS than most of the 
tival systems combined. 
So why doesn't 
everyone use it? The less- 
er reason is money: natu- 
tally, Microsoft wants a 
license fee from everyone 








of CP/M was for other programmers: no longer 
did they have to write their own routines for key- 
board, display and storage control - they could 
use CP/M's. This meant shorter program develop- 
ment times, allowing more effort to be devoted to 
writing programs that were really useful, not just 
merely functional. 

After this came benefits for users: not only did 
they get more useful software, but they got more 
of it. If you were a Pet or Apple II user, you could 
only use software written for your machine. But if 
your hardware could run CP/M, you could run any 
software written for any CP/M computer. 

Out of this came the first great microcomputer 
software: Visicalc, a spreadsheet; Wordstar, a 
word processor; and dBase, a database. Thanks 
to CP/M, microcomputers became useful tools, 
instead of technical curiosities. And that success 
aroused the interest of IBM. 

Up until this point (around 1980), real comput- 
ers had meant giant mainframes, and the most 


including MS-DOS with their computer, and a lot 
of people in computerdom feel Microsoft 15 
already quite rich enough 

More importantly, MS-DOS is showing its age 
(despite having been continually upgraded) and 
doesn't get the best out of the new hardware. 

Most important of all, it only runs on the Intel 
family of central processors, so it isn't even an 
option for computers like the Atari ST, Com- 
modore Amiga, and Apple Macintosh which use 
processors from the rival Motorola 68000 range. 

These reasons'also explain why there has been 
such a difference between operating systems for 
what are generally perceived as ‘business com- 
puters’, and those for home/personal use. MS-DOS 
(and CP/M before it) wasn't designed as a busi- 
ness operating system, but it appeals to business 
buyers because it's a standard, because it's well- 
documented and understood, because there's a 
vast range of software supporting it, and because 
it widens the choice of hardware suppliers. 










The operating systems called 
MS-DOS and CP/M are products 
in their own right - they can be 
bought as a physical package 
containing disks and manuals. 

You might be forgiven, then, 
for thinking that if your comput- 
er doesn't have anything like 
this, it doesn't have an operat- 
ing system. Wrong! 

On the older home computers 
like the Spectrum, C64, BBC 
Micro and so on, the operating 
system was builtin. Moreover, it 
was usually closely tied to the 
Basic programming language. 

This was because there was 
little commercial software avail- 
able for early computers. You 


"I didn't know my machine had опе" 


usually had to write your own, 
so the Basic language was pro- 
vided free. And since Basic 
itself provides a number of 
operating system features — like 
the ability to load and save pro- 
grams and information, and dis- 
play characters on the screen — 
it made sense to merge the 
operating system and Basic. 
Further, because these com- 
puters used cassette tape for 
storage, it was а great benefit 
to have the OS/Basic perma- 
nently in the computer - it 
meant you could use your 
machine as soon as it was 
switched on, rather than waiting 
anything up to 30 minutes for 


the software to load from tape. 
However, once disk storage 
became cheap enough for 
home computer use, а builtin 


operating system was less 
attractive because it makes 
upgrades very difficult and 


expensive (needing а dealer to 
replacee the old chips). 

For this reason, the ST and 
Amiga (and the PC, as а matter 
of fact) use a compromise sys- 
tem where most of the low-level 
parts of the operating system 
are builtin while others are sup- 
plied on disk. Upgrading is now 
much simpler — if only Atari and 
Commodore would get round to 
offering an upgrade. 


| 




















12 NOVEMBER 1988 • NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS + 








mmm BEGINNERS [o ond 





| It also provides considerable stability. The IBM 
| РС has evolved from a relatively simple machine 
| to the very complex and powerful systems avail- 


able today, yet MS-DOS remains constant and 
| your old software from 1984 should run on your 
brand-new 80386-based PC next year. 

For computers aimed at games players and 
enthusiasts these 
things are not as 
important, and 
theres a consequent 
grab-bag of operat- 
ing systems. Manu- 
facturers like using 
their own operating 
systems because it 
ties you into their 
hardware — if you 
want to run Atari ST 
software you have 
to buy an Atari ST 
computer. And then 
scrap your old col- 
lection of Atari 8-bit 
software. Com 
modore owners upgrading from a 64 to an Amiga 
face the same problem. 

Although this seems like cavalier abuse of the 
humble user (i.e. you and me), there's a good rea 
son for it, Most software designed for home com: 
puters is games software, and games software 
almost never makes use of an operating system 
anyway — operating system routines are conve 
nient but slow, while games need speed above 
everything else 

Also, the best reason for buying non standard 
hardware is because its technically advanced. 
However, if the manufacturer used a standard 
operating system like MS-DOS, you wouldn't get 
necessarily get the most out of the hardware 
(This is a theoretical benefit — you only need look 
at the Amiga operating system to realise that spe 


Need to know? | 


Any particular concepts or bits of 
jargon you dont understand? 
Anything you always wanted to 
know but were too embarrassed 
to ask? Why not write to: First 
Timers, New Computer Express, 4 
Queen Street, Bath, BA1 1EJ. No 
question too dumb, no subject too 
simple, and no condescending 
replies. Guaranteed! 























cially-developed operating systems dont always 
score!) 

So when youre considering what hardware to 
buy, you have to take the operating system into 
account, With games software, all bets are off - 
its a free-for-all. But for all other applications the 
pros and cons are simply stated 

Standard operating systems mean a wide choice 


of software and the assurance that you won't 
need to change that software when you change 
your hardware. But the software may not be tech- 
nically exciting. 

Non-standard operating systems mean a small- 
er choice of software and no guarantees of com- 
patibility, but youre more likely to be getting 
state-of-the-art programs. 








(Technobabble 


Floppy disks * Hard disks 


The differences between floppy 
disks and hard disks cause a 
tremendous amount of confu- 
sion for beginners, partly 
because - as with so many 
things in computing — the words 
themselves are misleading. 

For example, once youve 
seen a 5.25' disk you can 
understand the ‘floppy’ tag - 
hold one by the corner and flap 
it, and it flops. 

Now, take a disk for the 
Amstrad PCW range, or the 
now-standard 3.57 disks used 


so widespread 


spun much 


hard-cased disks that are now 


In floppy disks, the disk itself 
is made from a very thin (and 
floppy) disc of a plastic material 
and then encased in a protec- 
tive cover. Such a disk is a "flop: 
py’, regardless of whether the 
case flops or not. 

In a hard disk, the disc itself is 
a much thicker sheet of metal 
which certainly is "hard. This А 
rigidity allows the disc to be 
faster, 


A weekly assault on computer jargon 


mon. Or try to buy one: floppy 
disks cost around 50р or £1 
each; hard disks cost from 
£250 to more than £1,000. 
Another difference between 
the two kinds is that floppy 
disks can be removed and car- 
ried around, while hard disks 
are more or less permanently 


attached to the computer 
(hence ‘fixed disks’) 
third name sometimes 


applied to hard disks is 'winch- 


allowing esters. One bit of computer 


by STs, Amigas, PCs and Macs, 
and the difference is obvious 
these disks have a hard shell, 
and they don't flop under any 
circumstances. So these are 
hard disks, right? Er ... no. 

The problem is that the term 
hard — disk came into 
widespread usage before the 





quicker access to information 
The easiest way to tell the dif. 
ference is in storage capacity. 
Floppy disks generally hold 
around 400K to 800K of data, 
although some can hold as 
much as 1.5Mb. However, hard 
disks typically store 20Mb to 
30Mb, and capacities of more 
than 100Mb are not uncom 


lore says this is because IBM's 
first hard disks had a 30Mb 
capacity and a 30 millisecond 
access time - and the Winch. 
ester 3030 was the famous 
Wild West repeating rifle. A less 
glamorous — but more likely — 
explanation is the drives’ con- 
nection with an IBM plant in the 
American town of Winchester. 

















































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£13.50 Alien Syndrome £13.50 
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£22.50 Battleships £10.00 
£10.50 Better Dead Than Alien £13.50 
£16.20 Black Lamp £13.50 
£16.20 Carrier Command £16.20 
£19.40 Crash Garret £10.00 
£13.50 Crazy Cars £13.50 
£16.20 Deep Space £22.50 
£13.50 Dundgeon Master £16.20 
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£16.20 Empire Strikes Back £13.50 
£22.50 F15 Strike Eagle £16.20 
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£12.50 Scenery Disk Europe £13.50 
£26.40 Scenery Disk japan £13.50 
£13.50 Gato £19.50 
£16.20 Gold Runner £16.20 
£16.20 кагу Warriors £10.00 
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£10.00 Oids £13.50 
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£46.50 Alternative. 
£46.50 Art Director £40.50 
£120.00 DOS SHELL £21.50 
£125.00 Devpack ST £35.00 
£58.50 Film Director £44,50 
£155.00 Fleet Street Pub. £84.50 
676.50 Fast ST Basic £65.50 
£28.50 Graphic Tablet £225.00 
S x Lattice C Compiler £69.50 
£72.50 Den £125.00 
£58.00 Macro Assembler Plus £34.50 
$72 50 Music Studio £25.00 
£29.50 Prosound Designer £48.00 
$17150 ST Toolkit £21.00 


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THE RACE FOR CHRIS 











MUNSTERS AGAIN AGAIN 254 
This first release of Alternative's new full-price 
label is an arcade adventure set in and around 
the Munsters' family home and starring 
Frankenstein Herman, vampires Lilly and 
Granpa, and werewolf Eddie as they attempt to 
find the kidnapped Marilyn - the unbelievably 
human one. Excellent graphics provide а great 
background to a gameplay featuring magic and 
all manner of ghosties. You even get to drive 
the dragster hearse. 





Scary ST times as Marilyn goes missing. Also due 
out on Amiga, Spectrum, C64, CPC, MSX mid- 
November 





THUNDERBLADE US GOLD м 
Hoping for another Out Run, U.S.Gold are 
pulling out all the stops with conversions of the 
Sega arcade smash-hit. Via over-head and over- 
shoulder viewpoints you control your attack 
copter through sky-scraper canyons on your 
way out to sea and a huge, heavily-armed air- 
caft carrier and its gunships. Survive this and 
its on to deserts and forests in a bid to take out 
a flying battleship. Better keep your finger on 
the tracer machine gun button for this one. 





Choppers at the ready for ST Thunderblade. Also 
due out on Amiga, CPC, Spectrum, C64 mid-Decem- 








The game that received unparalled acclaim for 
its filled 3D animated graphics on the ST, cruis- 
es onto the Speccy at a cool 200 mph along 
with its Manta fighters, amphi-tanks, aerial 
drones and lasers to present you with the task 
of securing a volcanic archipelago from a rebel 
carrier in a bid to tap seismic energy. Perhaps 
the game's most endearing feature is the real- 
time icon control of multi-view synchronised 





BATTLEHAWKS 1942 LUCAS 
YOU... LucasFilm zoom out of Hollywood to 
light up the micro-market using hi-res digitally 
rendered images scaling through 1500 magnifi- 
cations. Battlehawks gives you 256 colour VGA 
graphics at max pace. Realism is the name of a 
game appealing to combat sim-buffs with air- 
speed, attack angles, weapons and tactics pre- 
sented with a view to emulating the visual 
intensity of WW2 newsreel footage. Fly wildcat 
fighters, Dauntless dive bombers and Avenger 
torpedo bombers as you attempt to take out 
every Jap within a million miles of the Pacific 





Оп the PC, the state of the art of Star Wars circa 
1942. Also due out ST and Amiga late December 


PRISON 
‘Another new software label's first release and 
this one's a graphic adventure based on a penal 
colony planet where you find yourself after the 
location of the parts of an escape ship. Of 
course, these bits and pieces are closely guard- 
ed - in this case by mutant lifeforms. After 
searching through screen after screen of desola- 
tion and taking out hordes of mutants on the 
way you might eventually get to take the disc 
from your deck too. 





Escape to outer space with Prison on the ST. Also 
due ой on Amiga late December 


action - you can have all your attack vehicles 
on the go at the same time and switch hetween 
them as tactics demand. It's too early to say 
whether its appearance on the Spectrum will 
require a drastic reduction in the number and 
variety of screens to be found on the 16-bit pre- 
decessors but gameplay alone should ensure 
good sales. Don't be daunted by its depth 
though - you can opt for an all action game in 
which you're dropped into the middle of a ran- 


BAAL PS 164 
Psygnosis graphics have always guaranteed 
good sales and this one will certainly put them 
in the running for the Christmas high stakes, 
even if they dont have quite the marketing 
clout of the bigger publishers. You're in com- 
mand of an elite force of Time Warriors up 
against the supreme God of Evil in a strategic 
eight-way scroller of 250 hi-def screens. But 
you'll have to deal with 100 monsters and 400 
traps across 3 multi-level domains in a bid to 
find the 18 parts of the War Machine capable of 
finishing the job for you. 








The ST shows off yet more great graphics from 
Psygnosis. ST and Amiga versions out mid-Novem- 
ber and due out on C64 in December 





PHANTOM FIGHTER MARTEC м 
Phantom's press release states, incredibly, that 
the ST couldn't handle the graphics on this one 
= which against the PC's CGA and TGA specs 
takes some believing. Nevertheless, this seek 
and destroy arcade combat sim takes you to the 
multi-coloured hues of alien landscapes as you 
attempt to clear the skies of everything but 
clouds. With missiles, cannons and hi-g manou- 
verability this may not be too difficult. 


Amiga owners will be among the few lucky enough 
1o see this up and running. Also due out on PC mid- 
December 


dom scenario deemed to take place midway 
through a strategy game. Either way, Carrier 
Command involves a massive and complex 
combination of both strategy and arcade action 
and could well keep you occupied for years. 


Carrier Command makes it onto the Speccy - will 
it be a tight squeeze ? Already out on ST & Amiga. 
Due out on Spectrum early December and PC, MAC, 
PCW, CPC, C64 January 








AFTERBURNER VEDIAGENIC 74 FAV 
Its massive success in the arcades this year 
has to make this official licence the favourite. 
Backed by a massive promotional campaign, 
Mediagenic's hot-shot for the top-spot takes 
you to the skies in your F-14 to gun your way 
through endless enemy airspace. An ultra-fast 
combat classic with 16-bit conversions by the 
high-flying Argonauts (of Starglider 2 fame), 
Afterburner shifts at velocities only your neu- 
ral receptors will handle while you pitch that 
360 roll and search for a mains socket to plug 
yourself into. 





On the C64 and flying high in the shoot-out 
stakes. Also due out on Amiga, PC, in late Novem- 
ber and Spectrum, 64, CPC, MSX in early December 





ZANY GOLF ELECTRONIC ARTS 1004 
Crazy Golf from the nth dimension construct- 
ed as nine arcade games in one as you battle 
your way through a host of holes featuring 
dart laser beams, particle rays and transporter 
рай. А simple enough scenario taken to its 
wildest ends, Zany Golf also includes moving 
walls, magic carpets, castles, windmills, pin- 
balls and hamburgers all strung together with 
great music and animation. 


Strokes left 


Weird ain't the word for PC Zany Golf. PC ver- 
sion due out early December. Also due out on ST 
and Amiga in new year 


på scar 








NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS * 12 NOVEI 


MBER 1988 


| ENTERTAINMENT 


PREVIEWS БЕН 





TASTO. 


OPERATION WOLF OCEAN м 
Possibly the most definitive shoot-em-up of all 
time. This multi-format six-stage carnage 
extravaganza, licensed from the coin op smash 
hit, finds you with machine gun, grenades, 
rockets and dynamite up against millions of 
marauders just dying to send you AWOL forev- 
er. Civilians, nurses and the hostages you're 
meant to be rescuing are the only people likely 
to interrupt your continual assault on relent- 
less attacks by fast-scrolling tanks, choppers, 
gun-boats and commies. Backed by Ocean's 
formidable marketing strength, this has to be å 
major contender. 


Britain's leading leisure software houses are doing the 








final grooming of their runners in the year's biggest 





race: the Christmas Stakes. Last year U.S. Gold's Out 





Run romped home by some 300, 000 lengths. Which 





time? ANDY STORER visits the Express bookies and 


full-price software title will be first past the post this 





OUTPOST FRONTIER GAMES 2000-1 
Something of an outsider, being first off the 
production line from a new software house. 
They'll be concentrating on ‘releases which 
combine strategic depth with playability’. Here 
you infiltrate a guarded outpost by controlling 
four marine units in a step by step assault and 
see the results in an arcade style animated 
sequence. Featuring a repeatable, semi-random 
game area, and menu-driven command system 
you'll have a choice of six interlinked missions 
per game. 





© A lone CPC wolf among the pack of versions due. 
Also due on ST, Amiga, PC, C64, Spectrum In early 
December 


DOUBLE DRAGON VELBOURNE HOUSE м 
Melbourne House's biggie for the Yuletide 
yahoos - a compulsive pseudo-3D scrolling 
beat-em-up in which you have to find and res- 
cue your girlfriend from a whole bunch of psy- 
chos using the delicate skills of streetfighting. 
Use baseball bats, knives and guns with unre- 
served calm among scenes of urban tension 
featuring, among other adversaries, leather- 
clad women with whips. A one or two-player 
karate clone where you get to kiss the girl on 
completion. That's if you haven't fallen for the 
whipping women instead! 





8 Oil cans often come in handy as crude weapons іп 
ST DD. Also due out on Amiga, PC, 64, Spectrum, 
CPC mid-November 


R-TYPE NEDIAGENIC 4 

Mediagenic's second bid at the top spot with 
this arcade conversion puts you in control of an 
R-9 interstellar craft through 8 stages of mon- 
strous mayhem in а spectacular shoot-em-up 
which you'll need to continually replenish your 
power stocks to complete. If you thought you'd 
Overcome every other arcade epic with ease 
then be prepared for a nasty surprise. A top- 
notch horizontal scroller in the vein of Neme- 


© Step by step assault on the C64 version, out in 
November. Other versions planned Ъ no dates as 


yet 


GALACTIC CONQUEROR TITUS 254 

You are the Betadroid Kal. Really. Located in the 
centre of your galaxy is Gallion, HQ of the Stel- 
lar League, whose surveillance units have 
detected an enemy invasion. So it's time to zip 
into your Thunder Cloud П fighter, get out to 
the remoter regions and do the business. 
Galactic Conqueror will attempt to combine 
fast coin-op action with strategic sophistica- 
tion. What are you waiting for? Your brand new 
Fighter arrives next week. 


© An explosive smash for the Amiga? Also due out 
‘on ST and PC late November 


sis 3, Salamader et al, R-Type features massive 
sprite spaceships and disgusting creatures 
which'll require full use of your ship's mega- 
weapon. Probably the best coin-op scroller ever 
to have made the arcades. 


% The ST version of this superior shoot-em-up 
scroller. Also due out on Spectrum mid-November 
and C64, CPC early December. Amiga version to fol- 
low in the New Year 


MOTOR MASSACRE GREVLIN м 

Prolific publishers Gremlin are hoping to be 
home and dry in a flooded market with this 
post-holocaust drive-em up where you're one of 
a bunch of survivors out to stay alive and keep 
ahead against all odds. You have to fight your 
way to the Demon Dome and compete in a car- 
nival of motor destruction. Sounds like you'll 
need a touch of the old Mad Max driving skills 
for this one - i.e. kill everything that moves. 








% Motor-Massacre auto-firing on the CPC. Also due 
‘out on Spectrum, C64, ST and Amiga mid-November 


GALDREGON'S DOMAIN | 124 
Interceptor enter this impressive interactive 
role-play fantasy sim into the end of year chal- 
lenge. You take the role of a barbarian hero on 
а search for five gems held by powerful crea- 
tures in the Lands of Mezron. Rather than 
merely exercising your various combat skills 
you must gain information and employ stealth 
and cunning to outwit your various opponents. 
Casting а fair amount of magic might not go 
amiss either. 





‘© ST Galdregon's - a main contender? Also due out 
оп Amiga mid-November 


previews 18 top contenders. for t the big Gallup. 


ROBOCOP OCEAN М 
Another licensed outing from Ocean - proba- 
bly among their best - this one being signed 
up before the film was made. ED209, the 
famous psycho-cybernut of Robocop the 
movie is out on the prowl with his friendly 
M60 machine guns in this futuristic carnage 
epic due out in the New Year. After its success 
on celluloid, Robocop looks like being а 
scream in silicon too. Hopefully, some of the 
movie's dark humour will underpin what 
could turn out to be one helluva shoot-em-up. 





© Spectrum shoot-outs with а roving robocop - 
Spectrum version due out mid-November. бие out 
on C64 and CPC late November 





SHINOBI REBEL 25000-1 

5 Ninja missions each with 4 seperate stages 
take you through sword-spearing and star- 
throwing cut with magic on a single-handed 
rescue mission. Not only do you have to use 
your Ninjutsu mastery to rid the screens of 
thugs and samurai - you also have to take out a 
helicopter! How you might achieve this with 
only a sword and throwing star would probably 
tax even the greatest-of zen philosophers. 
Unlikely to be a Christmas hit - it's not out 
until January! 





© An early Amiga screenshot of the star-throwing 
Shinobi, Also due out on ST,C64,CPC,Spectrum in 
January 


Б нн ны ылы ы... OY 


AND А FINAL OUTSIDE ВЕТ 

Despite the dubious merits of killer 
arcade conversions, our track-side 
long shot is Giants from U.S. Gold - 


Out Run, 720, California Games, 
Rolling Thunder, Gauntlet 2 — all in 
the one pack for 8-bits for around £15 
due late November. 








12 NOVEMBER 1988 * NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS * - 














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Spectrum 
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0782 281544 


Please cross PO/Cheques and make payable to: THE MAIN EVENT. 


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{the one problem that other computers have created. Affordabil 
ST range of personal/business computers from Atari. The ST was designed 


‘breakthroughs in semiconductor technology, producing a personal compu 


built in power supplies and buit in 

are now on ROM chips which a 

booting when you switch on. Sil 

dopartment is situated in Sidcup 

апа Selfridges (Oxford Street). Wo have eight years experience о! Atari products, longer 

UK company, and aro well established as the UK's No. 1 Atari specialist. With a group turnover of over £9. 
offer you unbeatable ser upport. We provide several 
during your Atari computing lile and most of these facilities are 
uge fat you read through what we have to off, before you 


FREE STARTER KIT Only. From Silica 
When you purchase any Atari ST keyboard, you will not only receive he best value for money computer 
‘onthe market, but you wil ls receive Ie following from Atan Corporation аз part ol Ihe. 

‘BASIC Language Disk. BASIC Manual” "ST Owners Manual * TOS/GEM on RO 
н you buy your ST from Sica Shop, you wil aiso receive 

NEOchrome Sampler - colour 

In addition, v 
put together 
With every ST comput 


‘graphics program — "Ist Word - Word Processor 

Silica would like to see you get off to a lying start with your new computer, so we have 

Т STARTER KIT worth over £100, which we are giving away FREE OF CHARGE 

‘our normal retail prices. This kit is available ONLY FROM SILICA 

med at providing users with a valuable introduction to the world of computing. We are continually 

‘upgrading the ST Starter Kit, which contains public domain and other licensed software, as well as books, 
magazines and accessories all relevant to ST computing. Return the coupon below for ІШІ details. 


DEDICATED SERVICING - Оту From Silica 
‘At Silica Shop, we have a dedicated service department of seven ІШІ time Atari trained technical stat 
This team is totally dedicated to servicing Atari computer products. Their accumulated knowledge, skili 
Пет second to none in their field. You can be sure that any work carried out by | 
standard. А standar we boliove you will find ONLY FROM 
ігі ST computers (both in and out of 
ranty), our team is also able to offer memory and modulator upgrades to ST computers. 
1Mb RAM UPGRADE: Our upgrade on the standard Atari 8206Т-М or 5206Т-ҒМ keyboard will 
Increase tho memory from 512K to a massive 1024K. It has a full 1 year warranty and is available from 
Silica at an additional reall price of only £86.96 (VAT = £100). 
TV MODULATOR UPGRADE: Silica can upgrade the 1040ST-F to include а TV modulator зо 
that you can then use it with your TV set. This is an internal upgrade and does not involve any untidy 
| boxes. A cable to connect your ST to any domestic TV is included in the price of the upgrade 
Which is only £49 (inc VAT). The upgrade is also avaliable for early S20ST compulers at the same price. 


THE FULL STOCK RANGE - Only From Silica 
We aim to көөр stocks of ай Atari related products and our warehouse carries a stock of over £% million. 
titles m the USA and you will find that we have new releases in 
dealers who may only stock selected tities, we have the full 
books which have been written about the Atari ST. A 
wailable ONLY FROM SILICA. 


AFTER SALES SUPPORT - Only From Silica 
assured that when you buy your ST trom Silica Shop, you willbe fully supported. Our free mailings 
ol releases and developments. This will help to көөр you up to date with new software releases 
what's happening in the Atari market. And in addition, our sales staff are at the end of a 


ystems specifically dedicated to providing after sales 
service on Atari ST computers, we are confident that our users enjoy an exceptionally high level of 
Support. This can be reaaived ONLY FROM SILICA 


FREE CATALOGUES - Only From Silica 

А айса Shop. we recognise tat serious Laer requi tn in-depth mato sanies, which ia why we 

‘mail free newsletters and price lists to our ST owners. These are Up to 48 pages long and are crammed 

with technical details as well as special offers and product descriptions. И you have already purchased an 

ST and woud ike to have your name added fo our mailing list. please complete the coupon å return to 
‘ONLY FROM SILICA. 


FREE OVERNIGHT DELIVERY - From Silica 

Most orders are processed through our computer within 24 hours of receiving them. Most hardware 
‘orders are sent by the overnight GROUP 4 courier service FREE OF CHARGE to customers within the 
UK. This method helps о ensure minimum delay and maximum protection. 


PRICE MATCH - Only From Silica 
We hope that the combination of our low prices, FREE UK delivery service, FREE Starter КИ and FREE 
after sales support, will be enough to make you buy your Atari equipment from Silica Shop. If however, 
there is something you wish to purchase, and you find one of our competitors offering И at а lower price 
then please contact our sales department, providing us with our competitors name, address and 

lephone number. И our competitor has the goods in stock, we will normally match the offer (on a ‘same 
product - same price’ basis) and still provide you with our normal tree delivery. We realise thal we are not 
the only company who 

tiled to ош 


SIDCUP KER Mail Order) 


fews, Hatherley Roa: 


01-309 1111 

Sidcup, Kent, DAT4 4DX 
01-580 4839 

Lion Hous ourt Rd, London, WIP ОНХ 


LONDON 01-629 1234 ext 3914 


Selfridges (1st floor), Oxford Street, London, WIA ТАВ 













LONDON 


(tst fi 





ham С 





There is nothing that can compare with the incredible value for money offered by Atari's 
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with a 95 key keyboard (including numeric keypad), MIDI interface, GEM, a palette of 512 
colours, mouse controller, and a 512K built-in disk drive. The 520ST-FM has a TV modulator 
built-in, and comes with a lead to allow you to plug it straight into any domestic colour 
television set. The mains transformer is also built-in to the keyboard, so there are no messy 
external boxes. You couldn't ih for a more compact, powerful and stylish unit. Atari ST 
computers are now firmly established in the UK, there are nearly 500 software titles already 
available for a wide variety of applications and the list is growing all the time. And that's not 
all. When you buy your new 520ST-FM (or any Atari ST computer) from Silica Shop, you will 
get a lot more, including a FREE Silica ST Starter Kit worth over £100. Read the ONLY FROM 
SILICA section on the left, to see why you should buy your new high power, low price 520ST- 
FM from Silica Shop, the UK's No1 Atari Specialists. For further details of the range of Atari 
ST computers and the FREE Silica ST Starter Kit, complete and return the reply coupon below. 


АТАН! 520ST-FM NOW ONLY £260 (+VAT=£299) 


with 512K RAM & mono monitor £399 (inc VAT) Upgrade from 512K RAM to 1024K RAM £100 (inc VAT) 
ATARI 1040ST-F - NEW PRICE 


We are pleased 10 announce a new reduced price point on the 
1O40ST-F which is now available for only £499 (inc VAT). The 
1040 is a powerful computer with 1Mb of RAM and also includes. 
з built-in 1Mb double sided 3%” disk drive. The 1040 has been 
designed for use on business and professional applications 
most of which require a high resolution monochrome or colour 
monitor. It does not therefore have an RF modulator for use 
with a domestic TV set. Modulators can be fitted for £49 (inc VAT). 
TOMDST-F Keyboard Wihout Monitor. £688 (nc VAT) 
TO40ST-F Keyboard + High Res SU 25 Mono Monitor 1808 (inc VAT) 
1 you would lie further details о! the TOADST-F, return the coupon below. 


MEGA STs NOW IN STOCK 

For the user who requires even more RAM than the 520 or 1040 

ST's offer, the new MEGA ST computers are now available. 

There are two MEGA ST's, one with 2Mb of RAM and the other 

Both new computers are fully compatible 

with existing ST's and run currently available ST software. The 

MEGA 57% are styled as an expandable Central Processing 

Unit with open architecture and а detachable keyboard. They 

are supplied with GEM, a free mouse controller and all extras 
as with the 520 or 1040. Prices are as follows: 

P 

{990 ne VAT) 

rt ne VATI 

(ее VAT) 








To: Silica Shop Ltd, Dept NCE, 1-4 The Mews, Hatherley Road, Sidcup, Kent. DA14 4DX 


PLEASE SEND ME FREE LITERATURE ON THE ATARI ST 


Mr/Mrs/Ms: Initials: ‘Surname: 
Address: 

Postcode: 
Do you already own a computer 


.. LOOKING FOR SOMETHING - 
OUT OF THIS WORLD: 














You'll find it at 


The 12th Official 


”commodore 
computer show 


10am-6pm Fri, Nov 18 Champagne Suite & 





10am-6pm Sat, Nov 19 





Exhibition Centre 














10am-4pm Sun, Nov 20 | commodore | Novotel, Hammersmith, W6 
Book your ticket now for the | computer show | And you just mustn't miss the wonderful world of 
show that has everything: Amiga — where you'll be able to see for yourself 
Se | Bring this coupon to | the ultimate in personal computing. 
* The complete Commodore hardware | the Show to get £1 | No matter which Commodore machine you use — 
range. | Per person off the | from the C64 up — you'll find just what you are 
* All the very latest in software — both | normal admission | looking for. 
entertainment and business. price of £5 (adults), All the leading companies servicing each sector of 
* Peripherals that will add totally new | £3.50 (children). | the Commodore market will be on hand to 
dimensions to your machine. | | demonstrate their latest developments. 
К Р " А Friday, November 18, 10am-6pm Tr 
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DATABASE EXHIBITIONS 

















Electrifying experience 

After using my 520ST for a while, 
when I switch off there is a crack- 
ling sound from the back of the 
computer. Is this normal or is the 
machine faulty? 

It depends on exactly where the 
crackling sound is coming from. If it's 
from the monitor it's more than likely 
just a discharge of static electricity 
which is perfectly normal and noth- 
ing to worry about. 

However, if the source of the noise 
is the machine itself you need to 
have it checked. Start by making 
sure that the electrical plug is cor 
rectly wired up and all connections 
are secure. Then check the connec- 
tion between the machine and the 
power cable which should be firmly 
seated in the socket. Make sure that 
things like your mouse and monitor 
cables - or those from external 
drives or printers, if you have them — 
are not pulling the power cable 
loose. 

If the ST continues to crackle when 
you switch off, have your dealer take 
a look at it. It probably isn't danger 
ous to you, although you might get a 
painful shock, but any stray electrici 
ty is definitely dangerous to your 
machine and could cause some very 
expensive damage 


Reach for the stars 

1 am ready to upgrade from my 
Spectrum 128 to a 16-bit computer 
like the ST or Amiga. However, I 
want to combine computing with 
my other hobby of astronomy. 

Can you suggest the best comput- 

er for this, and tell me what kinds 
of software are available for 
astronomers? 
There are lots of pros and cons to 
this kind of question because any 
computer can be a useful tool in any 
kind of hobby. For example, without 
looking at specialist astronomical 
software, you could make extensive 
use of word processing, database 
and graphics software to keep a log 
of your observations, compile a 
database of the objects that interest 
you, draw diagrams and make 
sketches. 

In terms of specialist software, the 
Amiga has at least one astronomical 
program - Planetarium from Microll- 
lusions — but I haven't been able to 
track down anything on the ST. Your 
best bet might be through public 
domain libraries — which leads us to 
PC-compatibles 

Generally speaking, PCs are your 
best bet for any kind of specialist 
subject because they boast a vast 
amount of commercial and PD soft- 
ware. If you check out some of the 
American astronomy mags I'm sure 
youlll find a lot of software on PC 
Moreover, if you want to take your 
computer/astronomy tie-up further — 
like computer-controlled telescopes, 
for example - the PC has better 
expansion capabilities than either 
the ST or Amiga, especially in areas 
like real-time control. 

Lasers burn up budgets 

We need a reasonably good desktop 
publishing system to produce com- 
pany advertising leaflets. We'd like 
to do a newsletter for our clients 


Amiga growing 


After some eight months with my Amiga A500 
I've decided it's got to grow - but how? I һауе 
a limited budget and can't decide whether to 
buy а memory expansion or а second disk 
drive. What would you recommend? 


I'm thinking about buying an Amiga A500 but 
I'm worried about the lack of expansion possi- 


bilities. Most add- 
ons seem to be for 
the A2000 but I can't 
afford the higher 
price. 

I know there are 
memory expansion 
boards for the A500, 
but what about hard 


disk drives, and 
things like the PC 
bridgeboards? 


The lack of expand- 
ability is one of the 
great weaknesses of 
the A500, but is the 
price to pay for the 
physical layout of the 
machine - you can't 
fit much into a case 
the size of the A500's 
(ST owners face simi- 
lar difficulties) 





As a first step in expanding your machine, I'd 
recommend you go for a memory expansion. 
More memory will probably be more useful: it 
will allow you to handle larger amounts of data, 





& Commodore's Amiga A500: what happens when you want to expand it? 


you can write longer рго- 
grams (if you're a serious 
programmer), and it will overcome a lot of the 
tedious disk-swapping because it gives you the 
space to create a usable RAM disk. 

By contrast, not much software actually makes 
use of a second disk drive, and because an 
external drive uses up some of your precious 
RAM, many programs require you to remove the 
drive before they'll run. 

As to further expansion, the choices really are 


specific add-ons. 

There is no official UK distributor of the prod- 
uct, but you could write to Pacific Peripherals, 
PO Box 14575, Fremont, California 94539, USA. 


ТЕН 





limited because most 


manufacturers = 
including, sadly, 
Commodore itself = 


seem to regard the 
A2000 as the only 
machine worth seri- 
ous attention. 
However, there is 
one promising route. 
US company Pacific 
Peripherals produces 
an expansion chassis 
for the A500, called 
SubSystem 500, 
which sits beneath 
the Amiga and takes 
two А2000 ехрап- 
sion cards. So you 
can have more mem- 
ory, or a bridgeboard 
for PC-emulation, or 
an internal hard disk, 
or most other 2000- 








too. 

From our investigations, it looks 
like a Mega ST with Atari laser 
printer is the cheapest system at 
around £2,000, but even. this is 
stretching our budget a bit. Is there 
a cheaper way to go? 

The laser printer is the most 
expensive part of the system but 
obviously we need that for output 
quality. Would a cheaper computer 
work with the printer? 


You've got your reasoning backwards 
here: in setting up a desktop pub- 
lishing system, the last thing you 
need to buy is a laser printer. 

The reason is that there are now a 
number of typesetting bureaux 
around the country who will happily 
output your designs on laser printers 
(or, when quality really counts, on 
true typesetting machines) for a very 
reasonable cost. 

Unless you're going to be cranking 
out a massive number of pages, your 
expensive laser printer will be sitting 
idle a lot of the time. 

If you think you can get your mon- 
ey's worth out of a laser, think about 
the Hewlett-Packard DeskJet which 
will give you near-as-dammit laser 
quality but at a price of around £600 
if you shop around. 


Back to the drawing board 

I'm delighted with my Amstrad PC 
and the accompanying GEM soft- 
ware but there's one catch - I'm 


finding it very difficult to draw 
with a mouse. It's particularly di! 
cult (impossible) to trace pictures 
and illustrations. 

In а recent TV program I saw peo- 

ple using what appeared to be a 
pen and some kind of special draw- 
ing board attached to large comput- 
er systems. Is there anything simi- 
lar for the PC? 
Yep, loads of 'em ... well, two or three 
anyway. They're called digitising 
tablets and popular PC versions are 
made by Cherry and Summagraph- 
ics, as well as a couple of smaller 
companies. 

Unfortunately you'd have to be seri- 
ously disenchanted with your mouse 
to consider one: prices run to around 
£400-£500 — almost as much as your 





entire PC, However, if you're that 
desperate, any large PC dealer 
should be delighted to sell you one. 

There is a low-tech ~ and consider: 
ably cheaper – alternative. Acquire a 
packet of overhead transparency film 
- any good stationery store, like 
Ryman's, will have it. Trace the 
drawing you wish-to copy onto this, 
then place the film against your mon- 
itor screen where - hey! - it will 
stick thanks to the static generated 
by the monitor. 

You can now copy the image using 
the on-screen pointer in your graph- 
ics package. Experiment with screen 
colours to give you a nice, contrasty 
image which will make the on-screen 
copying easier. 


Win a sub! 


We want to hear the problems that are troubling YOU, but we also 
want to benefit from your wisdom. So please deluge us with any tips 
you've picked up on using your computer or on a widely-used piece of 
software, 


As well as the eternal glory of helping out your fellow sufferers, you 
could even scoop the weekly best-tip prize of a free 26-issue subscrip- 
tion to this magazine! (Or the second prize of a 52-issue subscription 


to some other computer weekly!!) 


And remember, there's no waiting around for monthly publication 
dates. The best tips, and solutions to your problems will be in print 


before you can say Alan Sugar. 


So whether it's help offered or needed, write to: Tech Tips, New 
Computer Express, 4 Queen Street, Bath, Avon BA1 1EJ. 








12 NOVEMBER 1988 * NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS * | 





GIFFOR 


21 WHERNSIDE AVENUE, 
LANCASHIRE 
TELEPHONE 061-330 9939 


TITLE 


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TITLE 
Kill Dozers 


Ф} 
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к 


TITLE 5 
16 Bit Compilation ........ r Р Deja Vu 


1943... ^ 

221b Baker Street 

4 Way Football............ 
4 & 4 Off Road Racing... 
5 Star Compilation ....... 
500cc Grand Prix ........ 
Action Service ... 

Action Sports Pack 
Advanced Art Studio. 
Afterburner.... 52 
Airball . : 

Alien Syndrome ... 


Alternative World Games 


Altair....:.... 
Amazon Adventure ....... 
American Pool 


American Pool Simulator .. 


Annals of Rome 
Aquaventurer 


Arcade Classics Vol. | ......... 


Arcade Classics Vol. II. 
Arkanoids. 

Arkanoids II 

Army Moves 


Deskwrite 
Desolator 

Diablo .......... 

Digi Drum... 
Disk Library ....... 
Double Dragon 
Dreadnought.... 
ре? laster . 
{Sh ero pee E 


Super Ski. 


Empire Strikes 
Enduro Racer ..... 
Enforcer 


Enlightenment (Druid ШЕРІ 


Ерух on ST Ed. 
Espionage. 

Exolon å 
Extensor....... 
F15 Strike Eable. 
F16 Combat Pilot 


Faery Tale Adventure ........ 


1618000111110 


King of Chicago...... 
King's Quest 3 Pack 
Knight Orc .. А 
Knightmare ....... 

L'Affaire ... n 
Leaderboard ................. 
Leaderboard collection 
Leaderboard tournament... 
Leatherneck .................... 
Lee Enfield in Amazon adv. 
Lee Enfield in Space Age .... 
Lee Enfield tourn. of Dea. 
Legend of the Sword. 
Leisure Suit Larry .... 
Leviathan... — 
Little Computer People 
Live and Let Die . 
Livingstone ......... 

Lode Runner . ^ 
Macadam Bumper ........... 
Mach Ill .............- 

Mad Mix rov 

Masters of the Universe. 
Mean Ѕігеак...................... 
Mercenary Compendium 
Metro Cross 

Mickey Mouse . 


ом 


Фо 
Mu 


Art Directors. ы - Federation of Free Traders. 
Astoroth .. ү 95 Film Оїгес1ог..................... 
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NE Final Frontier 

Васкіаѕћ. 00000000 i Fire & Forget 


Mind Fighter 
Mindshadow 
Mission Genocide... 
Moebius ............... 
Montville Manor 


NO 


Bad Cat .... å Fire Blaster ........... 


Balance of Power 
Ballblazer ...... å 

Ball Breaker II... 

Ball Raider энөө 
Barbarian (Psygnosis) ..... 
Barbarian (Palace) 
Barbarian II .......... 
Battle Probe.. 
Battleships. 

Bermuda Project. 

Better Dead Than Alien. 
Beyond The Ice Palace. 
Beyond Zork 

Bionic Commando's 
Bismark 

Black Lamp. 

Black Tiger .... 

Blue War .......... 

BMX Simulator. 

Bob Winner ... 

Bomb Busters 

Bomb Jack 


Flight Sim. Ii... 
Flintstones... 

Football GFL 

Football Manager 
Football Manager II 
Formula One Grand Prix 
Foundations Waste 
Fright Night. 
AE 
Gambler 

Garfield 


Gary Lineker Super Skill ................. 


Gato 

Guantlet . 

Gauntlet Il. 

Get Dexter II ................ 
Gnome Ranger . 

Gold Digger 

Goldrunner. эө 
Goldrunner ІІ:............. 
Goldrunner ІІ Scen. Disks 
Golden Path.. å 
Gold Rush.. 


aan H Hi 
S@ORB: 0PRO-0: о: NO! : : 


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Motorbike Madness 
Motor Massacre. 

Mouse Trap 
Мебмме........................... 
Netherworld....... 

Ninja Ж 

Nord & Bert....... 

North & Star 

North Star. 

Not a Penny Моге. 
Obliterator ....... 

Ogre Р ч 
Оків......................»..... 
Оорз 

Operation Neptune ........ 
Operation Wolf . 
Outrun...... Я 
Overlander 

Pac Land ... 

Pandora..... 

Барагроу өзен 

Parsian Knights .... 
Passengers in Win: 


ба: RR ENDO. 


мы: оошоот-- wu 1 
I I AG отто | OG I I AMI I aa! I MOT AMI I I 


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мы: 


Fe Gorilla Wars . 

ea age Я E reat Gianna ler: 
Esp зый н Sra rt . Guild of Thieves 
Bubble ВобЫе 14: ao 

Bubble Ghost...... i ү à Hades - 
Buggy Boy. В Hardball/Mean 
тсс лр Nestene 16: Helter Skelter 
California Games ................ Å Него 5 of the 

Captain America ... ыы. Å Hill 19... 

Captain Blood . ee Bs Hollywood Poker... 
Carrier Command . s Ў Hollywood Poker Pro 
Casino Roulette... Hostages... is 
Chamonix Challenge ............ К i Hot Ball .. rag 

Championship Cricket чуч Å Hunt for Red October 

mpionship Golf .... y Iyperbowl.... 

Charlie Сһарїп........................-18. | I Ludicrus.. 

Check Mate mue 2 А Пай: ас. 

Сһевв........ ХЕ ; [кап Warriors 

Chess 89. Бел å Impact... : 
Chubby Gristle å Å Pied Mission M. 
ji - Д i €—— 
Classiques 1. ашаа А Indiana Jones 
Colonial Conquest . :- 2245 Indoor Sports 
Colossus Chess Inside Outi 

Computer Hits. 122. 1 саташа. 
Corruption .... International Soccer 


Perfect Match 

Peter Beardsley 
Phantasie ІІ. 

Phantasie ІІІ... 

Phantasm 

Phoenix 

Pinball Wizard 

Pink Panther 
Platoon............ fase 
Playhouse Strip Poker 
РАЛов.......................... 
Police Quest .................. 
Pool of Radiance ........... 
Ports Of Call ............... 
Power Struggle 
Powerplay . 

Predator . 

Protector 

Pub Pool......... 
Quadralien 

Quartet Gold. 

Questron II ... 

Rally Simulator . 

Rambo Ill 

Rampage 

Realm of Darkness 


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Crack .. 
Craps 

Crash Garrett 
Crazy Cars 
Cybernoid. 
Cybernoid 


Into the Eagles Nes 


let ... 
Jet Scenery Disks 
Jet Boys... 
Jewels of Darkness 


Realm of the Trolls. 
Retrogue ... 

Return to Genesis. 
Rings of Zilfin. 
Ringwars ... 


PE ерд (ре 
ФА DN ORRBRRRO RRROR RARO 


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Road Blasters 
Roadrunner... 
Roadwar 2000. 
Roadwar Europa . 
Roadwars 

Rocket Ranger . 
Rockford 

Rogue . 

Rolling Thunder 


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SRS аел вавы SARSSSaaa, KRSRASSAGAFES | BRAKRRGNAAGRAAK | 699000000086) адел | SAR I ARANAANAANSAANANY 


Karate Kid parti 
Karate King 


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Kennedy Approach. 


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BNR BOODRROWRARRIRRORENNESS 





D SOFT 


ASHTON-UNDER-LY NE 
OL6 8UY 
(9.00am to 6.00pm) 





TITLE 


















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POSTAL DETAILS 


All prices inc. V.A.T. and first class recorded delivery in the U.K. 
Overseas please add £2.00 extra. Please send S.A.E. for a free 
price list stating machine used. Please do not send cash 
through the post and if you require an up-to-date, information 
list on the latest releases please phone the above telephone 
number for immediate attention. We are open six days а week till 


6.30p.m. 
OTHER DETAILS 


All software is guaranteed and will be replaced without question. We 
also supply software for the following machines. 

AMIGA, SPECTRUM, СВМ64, BBC, ELECTRON, MSX, SEGA, 
NINTENDO, ATARI 8 BIT PC & COMPATIBLES, APPLE, AMSTRAD 
C16. 

Also with every order over £20 we will give you a free disk. All orders 
will be dispatched within 24 hrs (subject to availability). We also 
supply a full range of computers and peripherals and all hardware 
needs. 





Rugby League 11.25 11.25 Star Glider II cus 18.75 18.75 Tiger Road. 14.95 
See eet - 14:95 Star Trek... os 1495 Time & Magik ..... 14:95 
Sapiens - 1495 Star Ray 18.75 - Time Bandit 14.95 
Scrabble Delux & 14.95 14.95 Star Wars. ЖЕЕ xri ЖАРИ С Tracers - 
Screaming Wings... 1125 11.25 Starquake . - 1495 Trackers - 
Scruples ... ВЕ Stellar Crusade....... å - 26.25 Trantor 14.95 
Seconds Out 1495 14.95 Steve Davis Snooker 14:95 14.95 Trash Heap 14.95 
Seige on London 14.95 14.95 Stir Crazy (BoBo) 14.95 14.95 Trauma 14.95 
Sentinel... 14.95 14.95 Stockmarket 14.95 14.95 Triv Pursuit new beg. 14.95 
Shackled Wesel 14:95 Stone Breaker Ee Trivia Challenge 14.95 
Shadowgate 18.75 18.75 Storm Lord 14.95 14.95 Trivia Trove... 7.50 
Shard of Spring... - 1875 Strange New World 1125 = Trivial Pursuits ... 14:95 
Sherlock 1875 1875 Streets Sports Basketball. ....... 18.75 - Typhoon 14.95 
Shiloh...... 2245 1875 Street Fighter. 1875 14.95 Ultima 10... 18.75 
Shuffleboard... - 7.50 Streetgang 1125 1125 Ultima IV .... 18.75 
Side Arms... 18.75 14.95 Strike... - 750 Ultimate Golf 14.95 
Sidewinder 750 750 Strike Force Harrier 1875 18.75 Uninvited 18.75 
Silent Service. 1875 18.75 Strip Poker 1+ 1125 1125 Universal Military Sim. 18.75 18.75 
Silicon Dreams 14.95 14.95 Stuntman. ; 14:95 14.95 Vampire Empire 14.95 
Sinbad... ПВБ 2 1 48:78 Sub Battle Sim 18.5 1875 Vectorball.......... 11.25 
Sky Rider = 1125 Summer Olympiad 211-1495 Verminator 18.75 
Skyblaster ШІП 18:96 1495 Sundog - 1125 Victory Road . 14.95 
Slapfight 14.95 14.95 Super Cycle .. - 1875 Virus E 14.95 
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Soldier of Light 1 TT Racer : - 1875 Wargame Const Set 18.75 
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Mon. sentent 1 Tai Pan. .- 14.95 Warlocks Quest..... 14.95 
Space Baller Тапдіем 14.95 14.95 Warship e 22.45 
Space Harrier Technocop ............ 14.95 14.95 Way of the Littie Drag = 
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Space Quest II Terramex. 14.95 14.95 Where Time Stood sui 14.95 
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Space Ranger Tetra Quest 14.95 14.95 Winter Games 18,75 
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Spinworld. The Deep 18.75 Wizard Wars .. 14.95 
Spitfire 40 The Games Summer Edition..... 18.75 14.95 Wizards Crown 18.75 
Spitting Image The Games Winter Edition ....... 18.75 - 14.95 
% VS Spy ..... The President is Missing 18.75 - 14.95 
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бос The Thr 22.45 - World War II 26.25 
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Star Gilder 718275 1875 Thundercats .. 1875 14:95 Xevious. = 18.75 


WANTED: PROGRAMMERS, GRAPHIC ARTISTS AND COMPUTER SOUND D PROGRAMMERS 


For all 8bit and 16bit machines. Superb contracts on offer from a dynamic new development house. Established or just 
beginning, we have the future your looking for, send details of current or past projects to BLIT, c/o Gifford Soft etc, 


PRIZE DRAW INFORMATION 


Rather than just send off for software why not enter our great prize draw competition with a fantastic ATARI ST plus the top three ST 
games in the gallup software chart at the time of the draw as first prize. Plus a hundred pound and a fifty pound software voucher for 
the second and third prize respectively and just to ensure that there are no losers everybody who enters gets a free 10% discount 
voucher. All you have to do to enter is send the coupon on this page along with your order and for every ten pounds you spend we 
will give you one entry into the draw. All entries must be in by the 31st December to allow the draw to be held on the 4th of January. 
Winners names will be published in NCE and other computer magazines. 


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ATARI 65ХЕ COMPUTER At ВАК this is most powerful and 
suitable for home and business. Brand new, complete with PSU, 
TV lead, owner's manual and six games. Can be yours for only £45 
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DATA RECORDERS ACORN for Acorn Electron, etc., reference 
number ALFO3, with TV lead, manual and PSU. Brand new. Price 
£10 plus £1.50 post. Order ref 1044. ATARI XC12 for all their 

home computers. With leads and handbook. Brand new. Price £10 plus £2 post. Order ref 

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JOYSTICK FOR ATARI OR COMMODORE for all Atari and Commodore 64 and Vic 20. New. 
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EXTRA SPECIAL OFFER We will supply the Atari 65XE, data recorder XC12, joystick and 6 
games for £57.50 plus £4 insured delivery. 


MUSIC FROM YOUR SPECTRUM 128 We offer the Organ Master which is a three octave 
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9IN MONITOR Uses Philips high resolution black and white tube, ref M24/306W. It is made up 
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CHINON 33” F.D.D. Single-sided 80 track 500K. Beautifully made and probably the most 
compact device of its kind as it weighs only 600g and measures only 104mm wide, 182mm deep 
and has a height of only 32mm. Other features are high precision head positioning - single push 
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ASTEC PSU switch mode type. Output is +5V 3.5A, +12V 1.54, -5V 1.5A. A very compact 
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of these is around £30 but as usual we offer at a bargain price, namely £10. Plus £1 post. Ref 
10P34 


8” GREEN SCREEN MONITOR Complete, cased and ready to work. Composite input so just 
right to use with Acorn or other computers or camera, Requires only 12V DC. Has been used but 
we test and give six months guarantee. Price £17.50 plus £4 post etc. 
3" FOD Hitachi HFD 305 5ХА. Recommended for Amstrad 6128 etc; has standard Shugart in- 
terface suitable for practically all computers, £30 plus £3 post. pm 
J & N BULL ELECTRICAL Yvoucnens 
DEPT. NCE., 250 PORTLAND ROAD, HOVE, SUSSEX BN3 SQT 


MAIL ORDER TERMS: CASH, P.O. or cheque with order. Orders under £20 add £1.50 service 
charge. Access and Visa card orders accepted. Phone Brighton (0273) 734648 or 203500. 


We are purchasers of computer related items where they are available in quantity. Immediate 
cash payment. Send sample or details addressed for the attention of the buyer. 


YOU WON’T BELIEVE YOUR EYES 


Have you ever looked at some really excellent computer graphics on 
Screen and thought how great it would look If you could frame Ї and put It 
оп your wall. Well now you can! We have produced a range of computer art 
fo adorn your walls. Each picture was not draw. but calculated using 
complex mathematical formulas, taking many hours of processing to create 
beautiful images that are beyond description. The images were created on 
the Comodore Amiga using a resolution of 640x400 pixels In full colour, 
then profesionally photographed from a high resolution / high persistance 
monitor to achieve the Без! possible results. There are three sets available 
and each set comprises of six different glossy 7'x5' or 10'x8* colour 
photo's. The sets available are as follows 


PHOTO PACKS AVAILABLE ARE: 








ANY ONE SET OF SIX 
7*Х5* PHOTOS FOR £19.95 


PACK 1: DIGITAL FANTASIA photos FOR Ont edo 95 
PACK 2: ELECTRIC DREAMS ANY ONE SET OF SIX 


10*X8* PHOTOS FOR £39.95 


PACK 3: ASTRAL JOURNEYS 


ALL 3 SETS OF 10'X8* 
PHOTOS FOR ONLY £99.95 


YOU WON'T BELIEVE YOUR EARS 


If you are interested in making music with 
own Aegis Sonix, then read on! If you have ! some time using Sonix, 
then you will have found that althorgh tt Is * a powerful program. you 
аге limited by the sounds that you can 2 with the inbuilt instrument 
designer. You may have been temptet to 2 Midi interface, but unless 
you buy a very expensive synth, you wi le to approach the quality 
and variety of sounds that are on thes. What we offer is a range of 
seven Instrument disks, each cramme variety of exciting sounds 
thoughtfully chosen, and professionally ised, to enable vou to unleash 
the full musical potential of both you and yv: Amiga 


Amiga, and you already 





* INSTRUMENT DISKS * 
AVAILABLE ARE: 


ANY 1 FOR ONLY £9.95 
ANY 3 FOR ONLY 224.95 
ORCHESTRA CLASSIC 








ALL_7 FOR ONLY £54.95 
ORCHESTRA MODERN 


ORCHESTRA FUTURE i i Al pde 
PERCUSSION j acne 
BASS AND RYTHM 


en 
ayabie t 


ofre. following (Ple 
POT POURRI 1 istate which items are required) 





POT POURRI 2 BIGGLES ENTERPRISES 





WARNING: You need a copy o] [20 DAVIGDOR ROAD, HOVE, 
Aegis Sonix to use these disks| [EAST SUSSEX, ENGLAND, ВМЗ - 1TT 











Amex |“ WE ACCEPT EXPRESS VOUCHERS 185 


VOUCHERS VOUCHERS. 





ELE NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS • 12 NOVEMBER 1988 








MACHINE-SPECIFIC COLUMNS BEE > 


CLUBCLUBCLUBCLUBCLUBCLUBCLUB 
CLUBCLUBCLUBCLUBCLUBCLUBCLUB 
CLUBCH Li BCLUB 





The great hard disk swindle 

Why do ST hard drives cost so much? Atari's 
adage, Power without the price, palls when 
you learn that their 20Mbyte SH205 costs just 
five pence under £600. Compare that to equiv. 
alent PC drives which drop in at little more 
than £200. If you were at the PC Show you 
might have noticed 10Mbyte drives with con- 
trollers going for less than £60. What's going 
on? Is buying an ST hard disk the greatest rip 
off since BP shares? 

Unfortunately, several factors are to blame 
The first is the hard drive mechanism. But 
that's a weak argument as all hard disks face 
that problem. 

Secondly, the case and power supply add to 
the bill. Most PC hard disks fit into an expan- 
sion slot and draw power from the machine - 
no casing, no power supply, no big bills. 

Finally, а problem which PC users don't 
have ~ the astronomically-priced ST drive con 
troller. Atari's DMA port is used for connect 
ing a hard drive to an ST; it's because of this 
port's flexibility (it can drive CD ROMs, laser 
printers and so on) and the fact that the con 
troller required to speak to the bus is rare that 
the price is so high. 

Oh, and of course there's something called 
profit margin 

Things can only get better. Especially since 
Third Coast Technologies (0257 426464) 
announced a 20M ve for £399. This has 
sparked off a spate of abuse from Supra 
another hard drive 


























old machine and polishing 
Anyway, Supra are worried enough 
knocked £50 of their drive prices. A 20Mbyte 
drive ts [54995 
mea are staying co 
On the subject of h 
happened to Sili s Big Disc? It 
made a brief appearance and then vanished 
completely. All can be revealed now 









es, what ever 











The drive was a joint development between 
Eidersoft and Silicon. For two years Eidersoft 
pumped huge amounts of cash into drive 





research and dev 
the sum involved, suf 
rassing. Silicon forged ahead with the soft 
ware and eventually decided to release the 
drive. Eidersoft didn't. Silicon became disillu- 
sioned and decided to pull out 

The drive still hasn't appeared with an 
Eidersoft tag, but the Jatest rumours suggest 
that it might soon 





Protext poetry 
Forget windows, icons, mouse and pointer - 
who needs then when doing straight text pro 








cessing? When plain writing is all you want, 
Arnor's Protext is the business. It's what I use 
for writing this column; the resultant file is 
XMODEMed to an Apple Mac. Protext doesn't 
have а selection of screen and printer fonts, 
options for importing graphics or flowing text 
down several columns. If you want these sort 
of features, then you're better off with а DTP 
package. 

Now on to the main point. Hidden in the 
depths of Protext's command line are various 
interesting and undocumented features. Try 
typing PANIC at the command line - but don't 
panic! Perhaps more useful is the QWXCL 
command which has a single parameter fol 
lowing it. The parameter is a hexadecimal 
number referring to a memory location. Yes, 
Protext has a simple memory monitor built in. 
The instruction QWXCL ADAO will reveal the 
start of Protext's error messages. 


Starglider ІІ conquered 

Jez San and his Argonauts certainly know 
how to push the ST to the limits. What a 
‘game! Following are some hints if you're hav. 
ing trouble, and a cheat to ensure you can't 
lose (the cheat is in the last paragraph, so 
don't read it if you don't want to spoil the 


fun). 
What a deal 


Silica Shop (01-309 0300), Atari's main 
ST distributor, have come up with an 
incredible 1040ST-FM bundling deal. 
For the usual 1040 price of £499.99 
you get one of the new modulator-fitted 
machines plus VIP Professional (Lotus 1 


2 3 spreadsheet clone), Microsoft Write 
and Superbase Personal. 

Now that's what I сай good value. The 
software alone Is worth £359.85. The 
Professional Pack' as it is being called 
is also available with mono or colour 
monitor for an extra #100 or £300 
respectively. 





Nine items are required to manufacture the 
neutron bomb: 

Case of nuclear fuel - located on Aldos 

planet surface. 

Lump of mineral rock - exchange pyramid 

at main depot on Apex. 

Crate of castrobars - swap petrified tree at 

main depot on Apex. 

Keg of Vistan wine - trade bouncing ball at 

depot 1 on Castron. 

Egron mini rocket - on Vista planet sur- 

face. 

Asteroid - asteroid belt located between 

planets Apogee and Millway. 

Flat diamond - change for Ergon mechani: 

cal whale at main depot on Questa. 

Cluster of nodules - located on Dante plan- 

et surface, 

Professor Halsen Taymer - can be found in 

his car burning around Broadway. 

Without giving too much away, take all the 
objects to depot 1 on Apogee. 

Now for the ultimate cheat. Load and play 
the game as usual. Press F for fixed sights. 
Halt the ship (pull back on the mouse) and 
press Delete to pause the game. Type WERE 

ON A MISSION FROM GOD 

















МП Document ПМ к Мену OFF Мейер Кер få (make sure to include 


spaces, and no there isn't an 
apostrophe in the WERE) 
and press 1 on the main key- 
board. You will know if the 
cheat is activate as the 
shield and energy levels will 
drop to a fixed height. Press 
K for a full stock of weapons 
- that includes the neutron 
bomb- and press K to 
replenish weapons at any 
time. 








© One of Protext's hidden features. 


Richard Monteiro 














The next 8 pages contain TEN columns, one devoted to almost every 
significant computer in today's market. Each has been crammed with as 
much info, snippets and comment as our writers could fit. We think you'll 
find the one for your machine an essential weekly read. 








ш of the 


fonts as their 


hard disk space, Gly] 
PostScript book and 
needed, in RAM 

This gives a great saving in 


















sk space and 


UPDZ 
—— 20000008) 





GEM gems 

There are those who would 
Research's graphics operating si 
just one more thing to get between a person 
and a PC. There are certain fu 





GEM thi 
Renaming a directory, for in 
under GEM, but impossible 































Güte custom witten routine ш ы | 
DOS. G you highlight the 

folder, Show Info from the Disk | COOP 

menu and type in the new name 

ed esr E ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO 
about moving a deco with a | PQRSTUVWXYZakcd 
number of le of sub-directory 

beneath it? DOS it ld be efghijkImnopqrstuv 
very inconvenient, you'd have to. | WXy 21234567890! (DH 





se 





р а copy of the directory $%&()0]3:0,./7 




























structure and copy the contents of 

eac огу in turn. Under GE Glyphixis The Smart Choice 
you drag the folder representing 

the top directory in the tree to the å 2% | 
drive or directory you've рісі € Fancy letters: just part of the Glyphix range 

its destination. GEM w ; 

pily copy folders and files in a 







long) operati: Direct selling USA 
tall GEM o o 

огу. This mi 
y want to package G 
sub-directory. One of the easi 
ing it all is to install it into the root, run it and 
move the whole structure to its own sub 
directory from the GEM Desktop. Exit to DOS 
and add a line to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file 


micro soft 
one Amer 










One born every minute | Simes The so 


lan Sinclair must deserve some kind of | receptio 
record as this country’s most prolific 
computer book author. His 103rd book 
Desktop Pubklishing on a Shoestring is 
something of a gift for Mirrorsoft, whose 
Fleet Street Editor/Publisher series of 
DTP programs it is completely written 
around. That said, much of the informa 
боп is relevent to desktop publishing, | ties at £38 
whichever program you choose to use. ake 

The book is very well illustrated, with 
diagrams, page sections and clip-art 
appearing on nearly every page. The 
book goes into most of the technical 
areas of DTP use and offers some guide- 
lines on layout and typography, though 
these areas deserve more detailed cov- 

Из 132 pages include three 
appendices and a decent index, the 
scourge of all reviewers. 

If you have Fleet Street Editor, or are 
tempted by the new version 3 just hitting 
the streets, this book is a useful adjunct 
to the program's manual. 








One of the b 
the States is t 























along the lines of SUBST G: C: «directory: 
where «directory» is the name of the sub 
directory now housing GEM. You can now run 





GEM by switching to the fictitious G: drive 
GEM still thinks it's in a root directory (of dr 
G:) and is quite happy with the arrangement. — ware 


State: 








Fonts on the fly 

If you run а Laserjet compatible laser printer 
and are thinking of adding further soft fonts to 
it, take а look at the Glyphix fonts recently 
imported from the States. Rather than the 
usual soft font technique of creating the size Their international Free 
and style of a font once and using up valuable 89 1073 





Simon Williams 








CHRISTMAS BARGAINS 


DISCOUNT PRICES AND SUPER SERVICE 


ATARI STFMS 

520 5ТЕМ & FREE PD Software £269.00 
520 STFM & Joystick & Atari Games Pack. £349.00 
1040 STFM - 1 Meg Memory & FREE Software £447.00 


AMIGA 
Amiga A500 & Delux Paint 1 £370.00 
Amiga A500 & 1084 Med Res Colour Monitor £550.00 


ARCADE GAMES 

Xenon £13.90 Turbo 
Time Bandit £13.90 3D Galax 
Star Wars. £13.90 Wizball 


BOARD GAMES 
Sargon Chess 
Balance Power 


Scrabble 
Scruples 


ADVANCED SIMULATIONS 
Elite £13.90 


Flight Sim £23.50 
Interceptor £23.50 


Spitfire 40 £16.90 


** ALL PRICES ARE INCLUSIVE OF VAT & DELIVERY * * * 
CHEQUES OR Р .ORDERS PAYABLE ТО 


ALPHA COMPUTING 


Phone (0422) 66785 OR Write 
32 Meadow Drive, Halifax, Yorks, HX3 5JZ 


TURBO CHARGE YOUR PPC 
WITH THE 
SPRINT 20 


20 MB OF FAST (25Ms) 
HARD DISK STORAGE 
INSIDE YOUR AMSTRAD РРС.512 OR 640 


FOR £495 


AMSTRAD PPC 640's COMPLETE WITH SPRINT 20 


FOR £999 
PPC EXPANSION MODULE INCLUDING P.S.U. 


£99 








Stratum 


INNOVATIVE Technology Limited 

PRODUCT 109a Crockhamwell Road 

FROM Woodley, Reading RG5 ЗУР 
Telephone (0734) 441236 
Fax (0734) 441257 


Telex 848210 INFOS NG 


ANOTHER 


ALL PRICES INCLUDE LABOUR CHARGE AND EXCLUDE CARRIAGE AND VAT. 
ALL TRADEMARKS AND COPYRIGHTS ACKNOWLEDGED. 





12 NOVEMBER 1988 + NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS + E. 





AVAIL 


FEATURES INCLUDE 
















TRANSFER REQUESTS ATTENDANCE EXTRA TRAINING. SPONSOR SACKINGS 
23 POINTS FORAWIN — TEAM SHIRTS ‘SUBSTITUTIONS. FULL RESULTS: 

SEE АЦ. СИР ROUNDS LOAN PLAYERS SENDING OFFS. SEASON TICKETS 
NON LEAGUES TRANSFER UST MIOWEEK GAMES TV CAMERAS 

CUP FIXTURE UST CLUB LOTTERY FREE TRANSFERS. ‘CROWD VIOLENCE 
SCOUTS /EXTRATIME — POLICE BILLS БЕШ BUY SHARES APPROACHES 

7 YOUTH PLAYERS. DIRECTORS. RETIREMENTS TESTIMONIALS 
CONTRACT LENGTH — TAX REBATE INTERNATIONALS WEEKS PROFITS. 
WAGES PW SEE ALL FOUR ОМЗ EURO TOURS NAME I TEAM EDITOR 


SIGNING ON FEES 


PWLOFA PTS 


c^ 
MASTERS 
«OF > 


DLE ү 
(eri came CIE 
DAT MEEN. 
Memnon, MOTI 


TO OBTAIN A FREE CATALO ALL OUR 
STRATEGY GAMES JUST ENCLO GE 5.А.Е. 


OTHER GAMES STILL AVAILABLE BY MAIL ORDER 








GUE 
SEA 








FOOTBALL DIRECTOR(48K) гі e» В д £9.99 
WEMBLEY GREYHOUNDS r3 @ £7.99 
INTERNATIONAL MANAGER I «> a vw £7:99' 
2 PLAYER SUPER LEAGUE c3 <> £7.99 
RECORDS FILE oe 1 £3.99 





SPECTRUM 48KC SPECTRUM 128K &» COMMODORE 64 Bi 
AMSTRAD СРС 464» AMSTRAD СРС 6128 > 


PLAYING TIPS FOR ALL OUR GAMES £1.00 


Cheque/P.O. made out to D & H Games plus a large S.A.E. with 25p stamp 
attached. Please state clearly which game or games you require & for 
which computer. Also write your name & address on the reverse side of 
any cheques. Overseas orders please include £1.50 Postage & Packaging. 


DEPTCE, 19 Melne Road, 
Stevenage, Herts SG2 8LL 
ENGLAND 
E 








GAMES T (0438) 728042 


CONTACT: MANAGING DIRECTOR MR J. DE SALIS 












YOUR FORMAT 


MACHINE-SPECIFIC COLUMNS 






pý ly integrated system for under £200. The 


Lost Oppotunities 
When are Commodore ever going to learn? 
The company's record where advertising the 
Amiga is concerned has been, not to put too 
fine a point on it, pretty lousy. 

Even Commodores much touted recent 
advertising campaign in both the general and 
trade press has been almost laughable. Unfor- 
tunately, laughing is the last thing you should 
be doing when you consider the sales oppotu 
nities Commodore have let slip through their 
fingers because of inadequate advertising 

Why should this be of any concern to 
me?", I hear you ask. The answer is simple. 
The more Amigas Commodore sell, the more 
likely software houses are to support the 
machine. 

This has been one of the Amiga's main 
stumbling blocks in the past; the public 
wouldn't buy the machine because there was 
по software and software houses wouldn't 
support the Amiga because sales were not 
high enough. This vicious circle is one the 
Amiga-has been able to break out of only 
within the last few months. 

The current upsurge in the Amiga in enjoy. 
ing is not a result of any advertising by Com 
modore. The £100 price decrease in July of 
this year merely provided the incentive for 
many people who were still undecided to take 
the plunge. The real Amiga sales people are 
existing owners and the few specialist Amiga 
dealers, No amount of 'abstract advertising 
from Commodore can compare to the value of 
allowing a potential customer ‘hands on 
access to an Amiga. As many will no doubt 
agree, impressing someone with an Amiga is 
not a particularly difficult task 

What is really needed from Commodore is 
for them to stop promoting themselves and 
start giving the buying public as much expo: 
sure to the capabilities of the Amiga as is pos: 
sible. The Amiga's greatest and probably 
most used feature is its graphic capabilties 
and its suitability for applications such as 
DeskTop Video. A greater advertising push in 
the vertical, as well as the home computer 
markets can do the Amiga nothing but good. 


Arthur С Clarke's Amigas 

Believe it or not, one of the greatest brains 
alive is an avid Amiga fan! Clarke, author of 
the best selling book 2001: A Space Odessy, 
has been a fan of the Amiga ever since the 
release of the original А1000. 

In a recent Central Television production, 
Clarke along with fellow brain-busters Carl 
Sagan (he of Cosmos fame!) and Stephen 
Hawking met to discuss matters far beyond 
the comprehension of mere mortals. Clarke 
reputedly used his Amiga 2000 extensively 
during the two hour long brain-racking ses 
sion. Plans to screen the meeting are still 
unclear and even if it reaches the nations 
screens, it will almost certainly appear in а 
vastly edited form. 


Music to your ears 
There are some exciting products on the way 
for Amiga musicians. Most noteable among 
the new arrivals is EiderSoft's new Amiga 
MIDI music system and Activision's profes- 
sional sequencer, MusicX. 

The Amiga Music System is a complete 
music creation package that combines all the 
tools of the modern musician in one complete 





gfoSound Designer as well as the recently 





package includes an enhanced version of 
EiderSoft's ever popular sound sampler/editor, 


Teleased companion product to ProSound, Pro 
MIDI Plus 

What really makes the Music System a defi- 
nite contender for the serious musician is the 
inclusion of a MIDI interface and MIDI com- 
patible keyboard. MIDI is now accepted as the 
standard for the connection of musical instru 
ments; therefore MIDI support is seen by 
most as a neccessity rather than a luxury for 
any package that aims to be taken seriously. 

Probably the most significant music soft 
ware release for the Amiga is Activision's 
MusicX package developed by the American 
software house who brought you Photon 
Paint - Microlllusions 


ШМ ШШШ 





€ MusicX: the keymap editor page 


Readers of any of the American Amiga maga- 
zines will no doubt have noticed that Microll- 
lusions have been advertising the product 
with glossy, full page colour adverts for over а 
year but as yet no product has appeared. The 
reason for this? ‘Continued Development and 
update...” according to Microlllusions. 

MusicX is a full featured MIDI sequenc- 
er/patch librarian that looks set to take on the 
popular Mac and ST packages on their own 
terms and win. From the various press releas 
es, informed opinions and the usual gossip 
channels, MusicX looks like being а real giant 
killer of a package, 

The list of features offered is growing daily 
as the programmers add more and more mod 
ules in an attempt to keep the package up to 
date. The major features include realtime 
MIDI filters, full SMPTE support (SMPTE is а 
system for synchronising MIDI with video 


The battle for hearts 
and minds 





equipment), a generic patch librarian and 
promised third party support. 

Everything sounds wonderful so far, doesn't 
it! Unfortunately, MusicX is designed as a pro: 
fessional package and will undoubtedly carry 
a suitably professional price; around £300 
seems to be the concensus of informed opin- 
ion. Expect to see (hear?) MusicX by the end 
of the year. 

Jason Holborn 














R-Type is my type 
If you feel envious of the colossal memory, 
amazing graphics, stereo sound and cute 
mouse all found on the local Yuppie's 16-bit 
machine, I can only suggest you visit your 
software supplier and demand a copy of Elec- 
tric Dream's R-Type. It's а game which will 
restore your faith in our rubber (or plastic) 
friend, 

Converted from the 10p gobbling IREM 
coin-op, R-Type is a horizontally scrolling 
shoot-em up in the finest tradition. Gain your 
revenge on the evil Bydo Empire by flying 
through eight levels, each swarming with a 
variety of alien nasty. 

The enemies you meet along the way are 
tame compared to the end of level guardians, 
though. The creature at the end of the first 
stage occupies half the screen, waggles his 
deadly tail and spits spinning discs at you. 

Defeating him will mean upgrading your 
weapons system by collecting tokens. There's 


a wide range of weapons on offer including 
helix lasers, the graphically impressive reflec 
tive laser, homing missiles and a pool, which 
can be put in front of or behind your ship as a 
shield 

Even the standard blaster you start with 
can be quite powerful; rapid bashing of the 
fire button causes a steady stream of shots, 45. 
you would expect. Hold it down and a meter 
at the bottom of the screen starts to rise. 
Release when your laser is fully charged and 





Come back, Sir Clive! 


Amstrad never have seemed to like the 
Speccy much. Take this Christmas, for 
а time where computers will 


Hi 
"a 


SFER 
ИҢ i 


i 
| 
i 
è 
i 




















you unleash a huge meteor-shaped bolt, not 
conducive to the general well-being of the 
recipient. One of these mega-shots can take 
out three or four aliens at a time so it's worth 
charging up whenever possible. 

R-Types played in glorious technicolour 
without a hint of colour clash. This means its 
better looking than the drab monochrome of 
other arcade conversions. The frantic action 
and satisfying addictiveness of the original is 
also resident making this а pretty damn 
impressive Spectrum blaster. 

Out now, it's worth every penny of its £9.99 
price tag. 






































Oh why are we waiting? 
When Miles Gordon Technology announced 
their Spectrum compatible SAM micro it was 
enough to get Speccy enthusiasts very excit- 
ed. There was a 256k computer with an 
improved graphics display and networking 
facilities - brilliant for multi-player games 
which we could upgrade to and still run all our 
Spectrum software on. Numerous delays have 
meant SAM probably wont go on sale until 
the new year with a preview at the December 
Microfair. 
Launch price is expected to be £150 with a 
3.5 inch disc drive for the machine selling at 
£99. Itl be interesting to see just how good 
this beefed up Speccy is going to be. 


That picture: who wears the trousers in this company? 


Hello, Darlings 
Codemasters publicity pics are famed 
throughout the industry for their complete 
awfulness. The ones you've seen up until now 
pale into insignificance when compared to 
their latest snap entitled 'Codemaster's II" 

It features the whole Darling clan, with a 
few outsiders thrown in to make up the num: 
bers, in a suitable team photo style. Hopefully, 
the game it publicises, 4 Soccer Simulators, 
will be better. 

It is the first release on the new Gold Label 
which means itll cost £8.99 on tape and 
£12.99 on +3 disc. The package includes 4 dif- 
ferent soccer games and features simultane- 
ous 4-player action. 

Other releases from the masters of code 
include Pro Skateboard Sim and Pro Rugby 
Sim both are selling at the more traditional 
£1.99 price. The latter's good fun, and includes 
most of the features from the real thing like 
scrums, lineouts, conversions etc and a few 
features which arent but have been included 
anyway. 

It's not very realistic (I cant remember see- 
ing Russia at Twickers!) and I should know 
having played the game and have got the 
scars and various odd shaped pieces of anato- 
my to prove it. 

If you've got any tips, pokes, comments and 
generally anything you'd like to pass on to the 
тезі of Spectrumland, please write to me c/o 
Express. 



















Robin Alway 





TO ALL SEGA OWNERS 


Hello! 
















My name is Tony Takoushi and | will be running the Sega Club 
with the help of the delectable Manolya (more on her later!) 





The club has been set up to give Sega console owners the 
very latest news on happenings in the Sega world, this will 
include news on the latest hardware (joysticks, 3D glasses and 
light gun to name a few), software and THE ARCADES!! 





As you are probably aware Sega is NUMBER ONE in the 
arcade world with hits like Space-Harrier, Outrun, Hang On, 
Thunderblade and the latest smash hit Afterburner. In coming 
months there will be promotions for arcade merchandise 
including T-Shirts, stickers, badges and sweatshirts from Sega 
arcade hits 




















Each issue of the newsletter will feature news, reviews, 
competitions and club promotions. Each issue will feature an 
EXCLUSIVE review of a new Sega game, the hit coin-op 
Thunderblade is featured in this issue. So if you want the latest 
news and reviews join the Sega Club! When you have 
registered as a member of the Sega Club you can ring in to the 
Sega Hotline with any questions you may have about the club 
or get the latest news. You can also leave your high score and 
if it is good enough it will be listed in our Master Blasters list in 
coming issues!! 


Both Manolya and myself will be manning the Hotline and if you 
happen to be stuck at a certain point in a game then use the 
Hotline for some tips, we are here to help you 





A national network of user groups will be set up, BUT IT WILL 
NEED YOUR SUPPORT!! | am looking for Sega owners to set 
up local clubs around the country and 1 will attend your club 
nights and tell you all about the latest games and maybe even 
demo the latest prototypes to hit the UK as well as giving you 
special Sega merchandise. Club visits will be feature articles in 
future issues of the newsletter, so now is your chance to be 
famous, get a club going and let us know!! 









The Sega Club is being set up FOR YOU, so do write in and 
tell us what you want to see or if there is anything you do not 
like. 


So do not waste any more time...fill in your details below! 
















YES I WANT TO JOIN THE 3A CLUB. I HAVE 
ENCLOSED A CHEQUE/P.O. FOR £5 PAYABLE TO SEGA 
CLUB 


NAME. 





ADDRESS 


TELEPHONE 





Your £5 entitles you to one year's subscription of the Sega 
Club: 


SEND TO: MASTERTRONIC LTD, 2-4 VERNON YARD, 
199 PORTOBELLO ROAD, LONDON WII 2DX 


12 NOVEMBER 1988 • NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS + 


EXPRESS 
VOUCHERS 


MACHINE-SPECIFIC COLUMNS tts БЕ 








INTEGRATED DIGITAL SYSTEMS 


SPECIALISTS IN THE SALES AND REPAIR 
OF ALL MAJOR MAKES OF COMPUTER 
HARDWARE AND ACCESSORIES 


Free estimates. 

48 hour turn around. 

24 hour service. 

Television and video repairs 


entered into. 


This month's special offer with 
every ST or Amiga Computer 
bought from us we will give 2 
free Software Titles. 


CALL NOW WITH NO OBLIGATION ON: 


CARDIFF (0222) 473757 


We are one of the cheapest sales and repair 
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ATARI ST & AMIGA BOOKS 


ABACUS 

ST for саспа 

ST Basic Training Guide 
ST Tricks and Tips. 

Basic to С 

GEM Reference Guide 
ST Machine Language 
Atari ST Internals 

Midi Programming ST 

3D Graphics Prog. on ST 
ST Disk Drives. 

Amiga for Beginners. 
Amiga Basic Inside & Out 
Amiga Machine Language 
Amiga Tricks & Tips. 
Amiga System Program. Guide 


OTHER ST BOOKS 
Concise 68000 Prog. Ве! 
Using ST Basic (new ed.) 
Mastering Sound & Music 
Atari ST Explored 

Basic Source Book (rev B 
1001 Things to do with 5 
Graphics & Sound (Tabs) 


ST & AMIGA BOOKS 

First Steps in 68000 

68000 Pocketbook 

MC 68000 Prog. Ref. Manual 
Learning C: Prog Graphics 


Turbo Pascal Tricks & Tips. 
Turbo Pascal Quick Ref. Guide 
IGW-BASIC Quick Ref. Guide 
Word 3.0 Quick Ret. Guide 


COMPUTE 
First Book of Atari ST. 

ST Programmers Guide 

81 Sound and Graphic 

Kids & The Alan S 

ST дерсге 

Моге 5Т Appicatons. 

ST Tech Ref Guide Vol 1 

ST Tech Ret Guide Vol 2 

ST Appl Guide: Prag in å 

ST Appi. Guide: Prag. in 
Elementary Atari ST 
Advanced Amiga Basic 
Inside Amiga Graphics 
Amiga DOS Reference Guide 
‘Amiga Applications 


GFA BASIC PRODUCTS 
GFA Basic V 2.0 

GFA Basic Compiler 

GFA Vector 

GFA Basic V 3.0 

GFA Companion 

GFA Artist 

GFA Draft 

Advanced GFA Basic Book 
‘Advanced GFA Basic disk 
GFA Basic Quick Ref. Guide 
GFA Training Reeboot Camp 
Program in GFA Basic. 

GFA Draft Pius 


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Lotus 1.2.3. Quick Ret. Guide 








| 


DOAOMD 
H 











| 





























Soap-box 
Ever since the ST and A 
soft companies 


trum, CPC and C64 ma 
known as 8-bit the 1 
lar software being produc 





have their own strengths 
and by 
mon denom 





Game of the week 
The gan 
Last Ninja 
blend of arca 






great sou 
е lack of 86 

My only reser 
extra goodies 


This can only be bad, Бес: 








and weaknesses, 


о be felt by 


ware is tending to be 


d the 
takes off as a 
confident 











ategies 









a faithful rendition of The Human Leagues 
Blind Youth soundtrack on the title page. 

€ OTHER VERSIONS Who cares? (Only jok 
ing, but this is Sector64 after all) 

€ PERSONAL VERDICT Although Slayer is а 
hard game to play, a touch of perseverance 
will take you through some really great 
scree! and is one to look out for the next 
time you visit your local software dealer. 


ообо 


C64 utility of the week 

If you've been having problems with your 
1541/71 disk drive lately you'll probabl 
е disk alignment package fro 
Systems Software Limited. The 
+h gives an 














intere 



















software - whi 

report as yo 
and comprehensive manual which 
details all the procedures involved. Further 
details from 18 High Street, Pershore 
VR10 1BG. Telephone: (0386) 553153 

















Worcs, 


Going international 

The long-awaited Rocket Ranger from Cine 
maware is due for release in the USA at any 
rsoft set to launch the 















ле soon, wil 





game over here shortly afterwards. 


demo of 


rk crew 





tific examples of 
full-screen raster bars, a massive sprite-multi 
plexer and some pleasant soundtracks, Hey 
guys, why dont you try a real game? 


Infinite lives for Radius 


A couple of good tips on a great little budget 













game has finished 
with а secr 
MEANT 








Snippets 
Releases to look out for 
Exploding Fist Plus @ F 





һе coming 
€ (9.99с5 








£12. 
T 


dk 





ng from Fi 

The In Crowd € 
A crucial com 

tles о 












popular 











Cry from the heart 


Humble apologies to all, fm afraid I'm just too | €29 of this mor 






Predator, Gry 


ov - out at the 








lazy to produce C64 game hints, tips and pokes 
all by myself - this is where you come in. 

Send me views, news, hints and tips, pokes, 
machine code/basic routines, demos, fanzines 
and anything else you'd like to see in this column. 
and ГИ share it with your fellow C64 users. 

The address is at the bottom of thís column. 





е containing wonderfully 


Savage 6 Firebird 6 — £999cs 


£12.99dk 





spite the 





ойду adve 
ber the one with that stu 
Í a kid transformed 1 
ng this game), 













uscle ma 





by pla 








ent playing styles and viewpoint: 
bright апа 


4 by some c 








Prices include postage in U.K. Add £1 per book overseas or 30% for airmail 
outside Europe 
Access and Visa accepted - 
Tel: 0706.524304 


Hi 
€ GAMEPLAY A gr 
sh 









Sign-off 
Just a reminder 











Send SAE for descriptive book catalogue (state which computer) 


ADAMSOFT 





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VOUCHERS 


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ne 
atime keep 
and tips, etc rolling 





Sector64, New Computer Express, 4 Queen 
Street, Bath BA1 1EJ. 


Rik Haynes 




















Launching at half-cock 

I wonder what's behind the new 
ing drive - which was, incide: 
at the same time as the lame PC200 
perfect timing)? To recap, the d 
464/6128 (colour/green monitor) fc 
the odds. To balance the equation, Amstrad 
are throwing in a computer desk, a clock’ 
and a tuner for the monitor, so you 
as a TV. Finally, sevente 
(among them Monopoly, 
Trivial Pursuit all Christn 
boardgames in а previous existence) 
crammed into the box. 

There's something distressing! 
ed about this Entertainment 
sneaked in at the PC Show with 
introduction, and Amstrad hasn't ex 
overboard to explain things to the pre 
Still not been announced whether the 
nents will be available individually 
ple). 

Or perhaps it's just that Amstr 
most adept of media manipula 
tiresome compute 
hangover from the 
outgrew it, 


Help! 
On a similar note, the Brentwood b 
had another 'Oh but we 
tomers, honest guv' idea. It's a 
board ( val, V 




















































258 paranoi 
ly days, and it's t 

















Amstrad's figures 


Amstrad's latest annual sales report 
makes interesting and on the whole 
encouraging reading for CPC users. 

For one thing, Chairman Sugar is at 
pains to stress that Amstrad 'does not 
survive on new products alone". 

For another, in Spain the CPC played 
its part, Sugar says, in a massive 74% 
growth of turnover. 

Roll on the Single European Market! 












V23 Baud rates) for people with Am: 
puter faults. Picture the scene: your compute 
won't work. So you try to dial 
Amstrad help line - except you cant 
youre computers knackered. Nice one: now 
how about a customer suppor 
you can send a machine a 








9 the 









because 








Nice little earner 
Now heres something you 
needed: Football Manager II Expansi 
FM П, youll recall, is a fairly 
ment game in which you ei 
tics and financial ju 
from the fourth division to the first, м 
trophies as you go. With the new E; 
Kit you can: change player and team 
alter colours, choose starting divi 
even decide how many points are 
wins and draws. Supplied on ca: 
disk (£10) as part of the ex 
of saved games already set up 
Italian, French and World leagues 

What effect does this have on gameplay? 
Very little, since changing player and team 
names should have been а standard feature of 
the original. Come to think of it, all of these 
extra! features could quite easily have been 











ion and 
















or, much 


been 
ment is expected s 





supplied with the or 
makes Football 





Any day now 





iginal game. It 








Gremlin's latest is Artura, in 


fectively 
П сов! £17 or £25. 





Incentive go for hat trick 





big game 








mours that the ti 








Datal 


space. 


ed by us if he v 










































аке you play just 
о despair 
PS, you dis: 
ransfo 





















ore loca 
ent, and 
d а great deal 
pics. Can 
v, or will this 
in their 





d Database boss Derek 
about to 
CPC Computing. Our 
lespread 
lled off - 
into its 
rad Computer User 





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Е 
| 


MACHINE-SPECIFIC COLUMNS EEE =: 





but comfortably faster than LocoScript 1 
{shipped with the 8256s and 8512s) if only in 
geological timescales. Locomotive see Loco 2 
(shipped with 9512s) as the ‘real’ version of 
their word processor and all their new prod: 
ucts work exclusively with that. 

"LocoScript 1 is an outdated product as far 
as we're concerned,” said marketing man 
Howard Fisher. 

LocoFile was brought out purely in 
response to user demand, he said. It is geared 
re looks to be іп ће to a name-and-address storing letter writer 

Y The setup of а database can be changed at 
rually all will after setting it up and data files can be 
squashed to make most effective use of 


major releases for the PCW this ye 
space. Cards can be called up on 
п while editing а document 


enildeaH cibarA ПА | iss; or шолпан ean be cut om 


Locomotive have never worried about going for | ‘he cards, made into blocks as usual 
markets hitherto thought obscure or unreward- | and copied back into the document 
ing - vide Welsh, Arabic and Urdu versions of | File size is unlimited and up to eight 
LocoScript 2, which could already cope with | simultaneous indexes can be kept. It's 
ener like Russian, Greek and Mathemat- | fast, menu-driven like LocoScript and 


"Тһе Arabic version was developed for a spe- 
cific order we had," explained Fisher, (sorting into groups, printing reports, 
we decided to add Arabic/Urdu to our commer- | Calculations) have to be done w 
cial range. There's certainly а big market | LocoMail. "We didn't want to dupli 
there.” the functions of LocoMail in 
The launch of the program (in which the cur- | LocoFile, but we did make data files 
ыйы ы-ы are ener) - Раве, | from either program usable in Ше 
раға e while Arabic script academics argue | 011: said Fisher 
ҒЫ СӘТЕН ine of phan Locomotive's current project 18 

The Welsh version followed complaints from | their 24-pin printer driver set 
irate Welsh users who couldn't get a w-circum- | enabling you to print out all those 
flex in the standard version, but sales so far | Cyrillic, Greek and mathematical char 
“have been pathetic" lamented Fisher. acters in glorious 24 pin detail. What 
Xt = LocoSpread,  LocoDraw, 
LocoAccounts? "Well, let's just say that the 

nquiries we've had lately are on a PC 
sion of LocoScript he said. LocoFile is 

5 from Locomotive on 0306 740606. 
Rob Ainsley 


Locomotive steams ahead 
The future of PCW soft 
hands of Locomo 
LocoScript 1, responsible for 























very easy to use, but many functions 























La is Locol 
Script 2. 


the LocoScri 


















resulting prod 1 
the OL. It appears DOS spends а lot of its time 
doing error checking and housekeeping 
which would be taken care of by the native 
0005 built in to the OL anyway, so a large 
part of the normal DOS kernel is redundant 
The OL was offered with the Psion 
an all-in package and as a result there was 
never any market in the formative years for 
The emulation game alternative spreadsheet/database systems 
With the Атап ST g The major software item to influence OL 
and the QL running a CP/M development has been the Superbasic co 
of a PC emulator for the OL ers. This emulator, when released, will- eq 
thei pact. 
















as 



















business and bespoke 50 
biggest frustration to QL u 


Discover DiscOVER 

DiscOVER is a utility that is a lifesaver to 
those who need to transfer data from QL to 
PC and/or back. Transfer is a 
simple matter of putting a OL 
nd the PC 
disk in another. The copy is 











QL's European future 


Quanta, the QL user group, held a very well-attended | ion: and swift å 
workshop in Northampton over the weekend of | 2° 1061! a ы 
14th/15th October. Present were most of the major | OL standard Ше-10-Ше copy 
software houses and programmers well-known in ће QL | GONE are my days of so! 
field. Tony Tebby of Qjump took part, effectively scotch- | ing iron and RS232 

ing rumours of his total withdrawal from the QL arena. stop bits, tr 

We may not see much in the way of new products | | reset 

that dit jon, but remains and the compa- n эд орно conversi 
ny is clearly still doing good business. 

Also clear was the uncertainty, to say the least, about | Method Ive used п 
the future of the Thor. This has made many a software | Psion Organiser as an int 
house look carefully at йз investment in the QL. 

It may well be that the lead for QL development will | tic solution. As the ultimate 
come from Europe. The buy-out of Sir Clive resulted їп å | |. | haye succesfully moved 
major offloading of overstocked QLs onto the European |... binary file 
market. A couple of years on, those eggs have hatched | ^ “SS compiled binary ille 
with a core of enthusiastic European & Scandinavian | from an Apricot to aUnix mini 
users producing a lot of the new software and hardware | - passing it through the QL in 
offerings now becoming available. the process, and having it 

rende Bulletin Е often fe ee ены run first time! Full deta 
Babel re two Dutch or German ci mai 2: 

5 BE. БАҚ салла M roma дестені from PDOL on ЗІЛІ ee З 



















































































Hello, and welcome to the brightest weekly 
column for owners of all BBC machines every: 
where, be they Model В, B+, Master 128, or 
Acorn Electrons. News, views, and opinions 
(especially opinions). Let's get on with the col 
umn. 


Liquid refreshment 

Hot off the presses we have the Water game 
from CWDE software. No it's not a recreation 
for tired executives, but an educational pro 
gram designed to stimulate awareness of 
water use in the third world. Part of the pro- 
ceeds are going to the charity Wateraid 
Details from: Elizabeth Segall, CWDE Com 
puter Project Coordinator, Regents College, 
London, NW! 4NS Tel 01-487 7410 








Well done, Danny 

Even hotter off the presses is the result of the 
1988 Schools Design Prize competition organ: 
ised by the Design Council. Daniel Dalton, а 
pupil at Robert Mays School Оһ: 
designed a tool to speed up the production of 
circuit boards, as part of two GCSE cou 
was studying. The drill is controlled by a BBC 
Master computer running a mixture of BASIC 
Machine code. Daniel wins a prize of 
£200, plus £200 for his school 














Castles in the air 
Data Design have launched their Designer 


While stocks last... 

When you own an MSX computer in the UK, 
you find that apart from one or two user 
groups, you are very much on your own. This 
Is especially the case if your computers for 
Ш business or home office use. 

Some users even complain about the avail 
ability of games software, but if you kn 
where to look this shouldn't be a problem. 
Even as I write there are over 300 games 
titles available in the UK, and the number of 
games released here since the MSX was 
launched must be approaching the 1000 mark 

Good business software is far thinner on 
the ground. Programs designed to run on the 
MSX 1 range are fast disappearing from stock 
ists’ shelves. 

For example, Kuma have already sold off all 
their existing MSX titles. If you are interested 


























Hard driving 


More news on the hard disk drives for the 
MSX range of computers. It seems that 
the company selling these drives is 
based in Holland, and the normal pur- 


chase price is estimated to be around 
£400. 

Now it looks like these drives will not 
be available until the end of the year, so 
watch this space for а release date. 






























Castles pack, as а link between computer 
design, printer and paper. This is not а totally 
new idea, however Designer Castles takes the 
idea further than ever before, and theyve 
labelled the concept Printware. 

The designer creates complete ready to 
build plans with tabs for gluing, and every: 
thing you need to create your own castle. 
Once you've invested in Printware, the same 
support ROM can be used with additional 
disk-based packages. Details from: 

Data Design, 'Gowanbank, 3 Botham Hall 
Road, Longwood, Huddersfield, HD3 4RJ. 
Tel 0484 653176. 





Domesday eruption 


Just room to mention the BBC interactive 
Television unit who have scooped another 
award with their latest production, Volca- 
noes. 

Running on the Domesday hardware, 
Volcanoes is a videodisc about, well vol- 
canoes actually. The award is called a 
Nebbie (no I've never heard of it either), 
and following on from the Domesday pro- 
ject and Ecodisc it gives the team a 
100% winning record. 


















































Master-botch 
Did you visit t 


es of compute 
e you the 













stank, and the sn 
actio! 
y polemic, 
letters in 
nks. 

Andrew Brown 


So let's havı 
brief note, or any 
ar it Send yor 


those 









let us know 





what you, the real u: 







a product, eg. Forth 
Home Budget, 1 suggest 
you buy now before ks are exhausted. 

MSX 2 owners will, I believe, find a steady 
increase he amount of serious software 
available for their machines. | hear that in 
Germany Dbase 2 has been available for some 
time and is now priced at 50DM, and a new 
version of CP/M 22 (or maybe CP/M plus) is 
also available, price not yet known. When you 
ider that these MSX 2 machines are n. 
officially available in the UK it is amazing hoi 
much software is written in English. Germany 
definitely seems to be the place to shop if 
want serious software. 

MSX 2 computers are still available 
UK. Unfortunately, the Sony models appear t 
have sold out, but the Philips MSX 
machines, such as the Phillips 8245, whict 
has the built-in disk drive, is priced at £350 + 
VAT 

The cheaper Phillips machine, the 8220 (no 
disk drive) is priced at about £199 + VAT. 
















con: 



































1 into 2 will go 
For those of you who are lucky enough to o 
an MSX 2 machine, but are having trouble 
loading MSX 1 tape software, here are some 
pokes that might help. 

Firstly, the Sony. Disable your disk drive 
screen 0, select 40 column screen, type in 
&hffff,&hff then type in Poke 1,225 or, if that 
poke does not work, Poke 1,253. 

The poke for the Phillips MSX 2 is Poke 
65535,170. Load the game in as instructed. 
These pokes cannot be guaranteed to work, 
but are worth trying 

Here is а poke that will speed up the disk 
drive of the Sony MSX 2 computer - Poke 
&HFD9F201. This will lose you the verify sec- 
tion in Basic though. 











Keith Neal 





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CAN YOU WRITE 
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BUDGET GAMES IN 
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12 NOVEMBER 1988 + NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS * HET] 


PS чээ Å 








A last look at the week's events, by cynical old hack Private I 


Never send a boy to do 









€ Но-һо, look what I've found on the editor's word-processor. 
It's little discoveries like this that make all the late hours I 
put in alone at the office worthwhile. If my column isn't here 
next week, please send your contribution to: PSSsst Defence 


The writ stuf 


ne of the things that makes this industry 
0 truly great is its abiding ability to keep 

lawyers employed. These poor briefs would 
be all but unemployed were it not for the absurd 
wrangles that all computer firms are obliged to 
enter into at least five times a year. 

So it comes as no surprise that mlearned 
friends are currently being consulted about the 
defunct budget label The Power House. You 
remember the outfit: forever banging on about 
selling several hundred thousand games right up 
to the point where it went bust, having sold at 
least - ooh, a few dozen of its £1.99ers. 

What is now being considered by disk supplier 
SJB is a fraud prosecution against boss Ashley 
Hildebrandt, after some interminable row of the 
"cheques in the post’ variety. 

Young Ashley denies all. SJB is sticking to its 
guns. Meantime, the lawyers grow fatter 





a man's job, dept: 


Now this is tough stuff. Firstly, imagine 
that you are Amstrad (yep - put on the 
beard, adopt harsh tones, start swearing, 
etc, etc). Then set up a Bulletin Board 
Service (clue: get someone technical to 
help). Now the difficult bit: what do you 
run it on? Obviously an Amstrad, you'd 
think. Maybe a 1512 (if you can get one), 
perhaps a 1640, or even a PC 2000. 

Not quite. If you really were Amstrad, 
you'd've used an Opus. Honest. That's 
what they're doing. And far be it from us 
to say anything about belief in your own 
product, reliability etc etc. 


And the Meek shall inherit. 


Once upon a time, there was a character 
called Mike Meek. He built up the games 
software company Mikro-Gen into a 
decent size - despite bonkers forays into 
hardware with Mikro-Plus - and was duly 
taken over by would be computer giants 
CSD. In the way of these things, CSD 
promptly went bust. Meek lost his firm 
and his fortune. 

These days, he has gone back to basic 
and is to be found running six software 
market stalls in the Thames Valley. 
Sadder but wiser, he has taken solace in 
the fact that bawling out your wares is far 
less damaging to your wealth than wear- 





Fund, New Computer Express, etc. 















MEMO 
Private and Confidential: 
From: Launch Editor Chris Anderson 
To: New Computer Express Machine-specific columnists 


Well done, chaps on your first contributions to Express. I thought 
you'd be interested in my personal review of your efforts together 
with a five-star rating, Oh, and get ‘em in on time next week, eh? 


РС UPDATE: Remarkable story about Freefone USA - have you 
got shares in that company by any chance? The stuff I put in this 
issue's letters page re the bribe is just a joke by the way – it was 
actually me who kept the £50 note, xxx 

ST CLUB: Brilliant column, Richard, but your rates are far too 
high. How am | supposed to keep the cover price to 48р? ж 
AMIGA BLITZ: Jason, what on earth makes you think Amiga own: 
ers are interested in music? Or in Arthur C Clarke for that matter? 
How about tips on Interceptor? I'm stuck under the bridge. sc 

QL CORNER: I don't think any normal person would understand а 
word you said. But then, would a normal person buy а QL? жәе 
CPC SCENE: Good first effort, Steve, including fearless criticism 
of Amstrad themselves. Bit gamesbiased though. And you were 
too easy on Meakin. It's obvious the man is bluffing, dc 


BEEB BOX: Too short. жж 
SPEX: Too long. жәж 

PCW PATCH: Sorry, Rob, | don't think anyone will get the Arabic 
headline joke. And a bit less of Howard Fisher next time please. 
The chap's quite rich enough as it is. жжжж 

SECTOR 64: You're fired. 

MSXTRA: Yours was the only copy that arrived оп time. 1 just 
hope you're right in thinking there's another MSX owner out there 
to read it. xe 




















Here's the first in a series of easy- 


а) Our new game has wholly mysti- 
fying blobs b) We're lying c) We 
have a profound understanding of 
the function of irony in an all too 
serious environment (ie, b). 

2. "Quite a good game" 

а) I'm a pathetic wimp writing in а 
limp-wristed monthly b) I am ever 
so slightly aware of the possible 
connection between a bad review 


technological breakthrough’ 

а) It actually works b) It's not from 
Sinclair Research с) It's infinitesimi- 
тайу boring, but we've all got to 
make a living. 

4. "It's so good we could've 
released it as a full-price title" 

a) Im a pathological liar b) Full 
price to us means £1.99 c) It's got 
Simulator in the title and I work for 
Codemasters. 


а) 3,600 people could only stand 
the firm for a month b) 7,200 people 











ing out your - er, bank Ба! 
ance running a software 
publisher. @ 


Hype springs eternal 


could only stand the firm for a fort- 
night c) It's an utter lie. 

6. "Our products have a long shelf 
life" 


a) They dont sell b) They're educa- 
tional titles, but I daren't say that с) 
both. 

7. "You really do get an awful lot 
of extra goodies in the box" 

a) Er, we're not exactly terrifically 
confident of the game itself b) 
We've cobbled together a load of 
old goo for tuppence and banged a 
fiver on the price с) It's the same 
bumf that didn't work last time. 

8. "Mega" 

a) Unspeakably dreadful b) I'm the 
hack who swapped his brain for an 
MSX c) This reviewing larks money 
for old rope, isn't it? 

9. "Truly interactive" 

8) Some twee drivel where you 
have to pretend youre a goblin b) 
Some twee drivel where you have 


unless you have very specific sexu- 
al desires for er, a goblin. 

10. "It's just like flying an F-16 
bomber" 


a) It isn't b) 'm a psychopathic fas- 
cist living out squalid infantile fan- 
tasies. 





@ "What's this socket on the back here?" 


“That's so you can plug in a 64-bit expansion." 
Just one of the unbelievably crass replies given us by a high- 
street computer department salesman when we went shopping 
for a computer. We'll be printing some other edited highlights off 
our hidden tape-recorder. It's all part of a detailed guide to 
selecting the right computer for you. Don't miss it. 

@ In search of the perfect word-processor 

We dream up an ideal program and name the packages which 
come closest to it. 

@ More vouchers 

Our incredible-voucher scheme continues, offering your the 
chance to save on every computer product you buy. 


m ov 


The very latest news, the hottest 
On sale Thursday November 17 









reviews and previews, another 
column dedicated to your computer, 
and much, much more. 


Don't miss it! 











* NEW COMPUTER EXPRESS * 12 NOVEMBER 1988 



















ENT 












CBM 64/128 £ 9.99 
Disk £14.99 

ATARI ST £19.99 
IBM PC £19.99 
AMIGA £19.99 


\ All mail order enquiries to: 


Gremlin Graphics Software Ltd., 
Alpha House, 10 Carver Street, 
Sheffield 51 4Е5 





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